Old Dominion Women’s Basketball (21-8, 12-6 SBC) struggled to find success on offense throughout the night as they fell 70-58 to James Madison. The Monarchs will enter the Sun Belt Women’s Basketball Tournament as the #4 seed in Pensacola, Florida.
The Monarchs took plenty of shots, 80 to be exact, but only hit 25% of them. On the other side, it seemed as if the Dukes just could not miss, especially early on.
In the first quarter, JMU went ahead 25-15 after knocking down 10-of-16 shots. ODU made strong defensive adjustments in the second quarter, closing off the passes to the paint that led to open looks early on.
James Madison made defensive adjustments of their own after halftime, holding Old Dominion to just nine points. Kaye Clark pulled ODU within seven when she knocked down a jumper after a Brenda Fontana steal. But JMU responded with a 12-0 run that put the game out of reach.
“If you go 0-7 in a stretch and James Madison gets seven possessions, you’re in trouble,” said Head Coach DeLisha Milton-Jones. “Because they are that talented and that skilled, they will punish you…”
Noticeably missing for most of the second half was ODU’s leading scorer En’Dya Buford. Earlier in the game, she was seen favoring her wrist and had very limited minutes in the second half.
The Monarchs rallied late, finishing the game on a 7-0 run over the final minute. But it was too little too late.
When asked about their struggles attacking the JMU zone, Coach Milton-Jones said “I’d rather see it now so we can use it for fuel and tactics going into conference tournament time. A lot of teams play zone against us, we’ve been successful against many of them. But tonight was just one of those nights when it was just a little funky for us, but we’re gonna dissect this and learn from it so that we can use it as an asset for what we are trying to fight for.”
ODU had 11 steals and forced 22 turnovers while committing just 10 turnovers themselves. JMU had the edge on the glass 54-47 and blocked 11 shots.
The Dukes play a physical style of basketball and rarely allowed an uncontested look. 757 products Ashanti Barnes and Annalicia Goodman both had strong games, combining for 18 points and 20 rebounds.
“Process, move on, get better,” said Coach Milton-Jones.
After the game, Old Dominion honored their nine seniors, some will be playing their final game in Chartway Arena. Of the nine, Jordan McLaughlin, Kaye Clark and Lanetta Williams will exhaust their eligibility while the other six will have the ability to return next season.
ODU earned a double bye with their #4 seeding and will play their first game Friday, March 8th at 3pm (ET) against the winner of Game 4.
I asked Coach Milton-Jones about leaning on her players with championship experience prior to arriving at Old Dominion. See her response below.
Click here for more information on the 2024 Sun Belt Women’s Basketball Tournament.