ODU Women’s Basketball (19-7,10-5 SBC) exploded for 28 third quarter points on the way to a 81-62 road win against Appalachian State Thursday night.
The Monarchs had it going at both ends of the court, shooting 45.7% from the field while holding the Mountaineers to just 26.8%. ODU also knocked down a season high 10 three pointers on 20 attempts with half of those coming in the breakout third quarter.
Old Dominion won this game despite multiple players getting into foul trouble and Appalachian State attempting 38 free throws, 20 more than ODU.
After holding just a one-point lead at halftime, the Monarchs came out of the locker room with a hot hand.
Simone Cunningham scored a bucket in the paint and was followed by three pointers from Mimi McCollister and Brenda Fontana then a jumper in the paint by Lanetta Williams. Before App State could get their first points of the second half, ODU had built an 11-point lead.
The Mountaineers knocked down a three with 5:55 to go in the third, cutting the advantage to eight, but that just seemed to make the Monarchs mad.
ODU responded with an 11-0 run, highlighted by a three from Kaye Clark, another triple from McCollister and an old-fashioned three point play by En’Dya Buford. Halima Salat drained a three for the Monarchs in the final minute as they ended the period up 17.
Old Dominion locked things down in the fourth, never allowing Appalachian State to get any closer than 16 points.
The Monarchs had 10 players leave their mark in the scoring column with four of those registering double digits. Fontana and Buford led the way with 17 points each. Fontana also had eight rebounds. Cunningham recorded another double-double with 10 and 10 and McCollister had 10 points and four assists.
ODU sits alone in fourth place of the Sun Belt standings but faces a huge matchup with Georgia State on Saturday at 5pm. The Panthers trail the Monarchs by just one game in the standings.
Earlier this season, ODU beat GSU 73-65 in Norfolk. Another win for Old Dominion on Saturday would effectively give them a three game lead and thin the crowded fight for a top four seed.