PENSACOLA, FL (WTKR) — Old Dominion had to show fight to keep hopes of a conference championship alive on Sunday.
The Monarchs put that fight on display, but James Madison had just enough to hold off ODU's rally and claim a 70-64 victory.
Delisha Milton-Jones' group found itself in a 38-22 hole early in the third quarter of the Sun Belt Tournament semifinals. With 53 seconds left in the quarter, ODU tied the game up after going on a 23-7 run.
The silver and blue worked the game back to a 47-45 score going into the fourth quarter and immediately tied it up in the final 10 minutes. JMU used a 6-0 run to retake the lead and never gave it back.
"Disheartening, yes. But we still can hold our heads high because we know we gave our best effort," Milton-Jones said. "We don't have any regrets. None whatsoever. We fought to the bitter end, we just didn't come out on the winning side this time."
The baskets were hard to come by for Old Dominion, shooting just 35.5 percent from the floor. 15 second chance points off 12 offensive rebounds, along with going 15-20 from the free throw line, helped the Monarchs stay in the game while JMU made its surge to a 38-22 advantage.
Jatyjia Jones' 12 points led ODU scorers, while Princess Anne products Brianna Jackson and Makayla Dickens scored 11 and 10 points respectively. All-Sun Belt second team forward Amari Young chipped in eight points but was limited to just 12 minutes after getting into foul trouble in the first half.
"I told them before, I can take a loss when I know we've given it our all," Young said. "I know we gave it our all and I know we left it all out there on the floor."
"I'm upset that we lost but I'm proud of my team."
The Monarchs hold a 22-12 record and now await to see if they are invited to the Womens National Invitation Tournament. Milton-Jones said they would "be more than happy to accept" if that opportunity were extended.
