NORFOLK, Va. (ODUSports.com) – A balanced scoresheet with four Monarchs (7-9, 4-9 C-USA) recording double-digit scoring performances led the Old Dominion women’s basketball team to pick up a much-needed 70-47 victory over UAB on Saturday afternoon.
“Today’s game felt good! To get that monkey off of our backs was a tremendous feeling. It looked like our women came out and they were decisive in what type of game they wanted to dictate today,” expressed head coach DeLisha Milton-Jones.
The Blazers (7-9, 4-8 C-USA) got on the board first, opening up a 5-0 lead in the first two and a half minutes of play. A Mariah Adams jump shot followed by two Ajah Wayne free throws put the Monarchs back within one. The Blazers quickly responded with a three-point field goal to hold a four-point advantage and remain ahead of the Monarchs until back-to-back Amari Young field goals knotted the game, 10-10 with just over three minutes to play in the first quarter. The two teams traded field goals the rest of the way, ending the first period tied up, 14-14.
ODU took control of the second quarter, capitalizing off six UAB turnovers, scoring 10 points. The Monarchs had just two turnovers in the second quarter and outscored the Blazers, 21-14, which was led offensively by senior Victoria Morris with eight points. Morris went 2-for-2 from beyond the arc as ODU shot 50% from the field in the second quarter. ODU went into the locker room with a 35-28 lead.
In the third quarter, ODU held the Blazers to just nine points. Despite UAB opening the period with back-to-back field goals to cut the Monarch lead down to three, the Monarchs went on a 21-5 scoring run the remaining eight and a half minutes of the third quarter to take a 19-point lead into the fourth quarter.
ODU held onto its lead for the remainder of the game, opening up a 23-point deficit for the Blazers that was too much to overcome.
“We took UAB out of their game plan as far as being a passing and cutting type of team. We made them play one way, which was giving them different variations in how we guard that, making their life harder. Overall, it was a tremendous effort by our team and the contributions we received from everyone was huge,” Milton-Jones said.
Morris and Adams led the scoring efforts for ODU, pouring in 15 points apiece. Adams also dished out a career-high seven assists, while Morris notched a career-high four steals. Young recorded her sixth double-double of the season, compiling 12 points and 14 rebounds. Wayne was the fourth Monarch in double-digits for the game, putting together 13 points and eight boards.
For the second night in a row, Zakyia Weathersby led the Blazers with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
