Dukes rally to knock Monarchs out of first
Just when it looked like the Old Dominion women were about to move ahead of James Madison and remain in at least a share of first place in the Sun Belt Conference, their nemesis haunted them again.
The Dukes overcame a six-point overtime deficit to defeat the Monarchs 73-68 Saturday afternoon at Chartway Arena, finishing the day on a 12-1 run to win for the seventh straight time in the series. ODU’s six-game winning streak ended as the Monarchs fell to 13-2 at home.
Kiki Jefferson scored 30 points and hit 13 of 17 free throws for JMU (22-6, 12-4 Sun Belt), which retained a share of the top spot with Troy. It was a bitter defeat in the regular-season home finale for ODU (19-10, 11-5), which was looking to avenge a defeat in Harrisonburg and stay at the top.
Amari Young had 23 points and 13 rebounds for ODU. She hit 9 of 16 field-goal tries, including a contested 12-footer that bounced in with about one second left in regulation to force overtime.
ODU seemed to have momentum heading into OT, and a threepoint play by Brianna Jackson, a Young free throw and two Jordan McLaughlin free throws at the 3:29 mark put the Monarchs ahead 67-61, their biggest lead of the game.
But ODU only netted one more point (Jada Duckett’s free throw with 2:03 left) as JMU suddenly became unstoppable. A Caroline Germond jumper and four Jefferson free throws later, Kobe King-Hawea put JMU ahead 69-68 by scoring in the lane with 47 seconds remaining. Young committed a charging foul with 23 seconds to go, and the Monarchs then had to gamble that the Dukes would miss free throws. Germond sank a pair, ODU missed from 3-point range and Jefferson virtually clinched the outcome with two more foul shots at the 10-second mark.
ODU, seeking at least to stay in the top four to ensure a spot in the conference tournament quarterfinals in Pensacola, Florida, will play at Marshall on Wednesday and then at Coastal Carolina on Friday.