Monarchs put rough opener behind them
After a disappointing outing in the season opener, the Old Dominion women looked like a whole new team Thursday as the Monarchs rolled past William & Mary.
In front of a sparse home crowd because of COVID19 restrictions, ODU seized control midway through the opening quarter and never looked back in a 70-47 win over the Tribe at Chartway Arena.
Ajah Wayne scored 21 points and grabbed 15 rebounds as Old Dominion surpassed its 37-point offensive output from last week’s loss against George Washington in the first half alone. The Monarchs, who were held to just one point in the second quarter against the Colonials, outscored William & Mary 17-5 in the final frame.
It was the type of dominating win that ODU wanted as it bounced back from an inauspicious start.
“Tonight was a game that we knew we had to come in and win,” said Delisha Milton-Jones, who earned her first victory as the Monarchs’ head coach. “We did not have the showing
that we expected to have when we went down to play George Washington ... so when we came back home, we had to get back to the drawing board and really have a nice, come-to-Jesus conversation with ourselves. We put a mirror in front of each one of us, coaches included, and we had to ask ourselves some hard questions, and we came out of it realizing that we all could give more and do more and pay attention to details more, and that’s not the identity of who we are.
“So tonight, we came out with a concerted effort of displaying who we are.”
That increased effort started in practices in the lead-up to the game, where Milton-Jones said she and the rest of the coaching staff were like “a cage of ravenous pit bulls ... barking and nipping everything that did not look the way it was supposed to look.”
Milton-Jones “is able to build us up,” Wayne said. “I think building us up in practice, that’s what made us come out and start the game off like we did. She pushes us when we’re at practice too, so it’s like the confidence and the push, you put it together, and I feel like we can be unstoppable.”
Wayne, who also led the Monarchs in scoring with 11 points against George Washington, hit 5 of 6 from the floor and 10 of 15 free throws Thursday. Amari Young added 16 points and Victoria Morris finished with 14 for Old Dominion.
The teams traded buckets through the first few minutes before the Monarchs took over, thanks to some early takeaways, and ran out to a 38-24 halftime lead.
In the third quarter, the Tribe was able to pull back within single digits, outscoring Old Dominion 18-15.
Sydney Wagner led the Tribe (0-1) with 14 points as W&M fell behind 59-7 in the teams’ all-time series.
Though the Monarchs are celebrating their first victory, they know they have a long way to go, and more improvements to make, to accomplish their ultimate goal of making a splash in the NCAA tournament.
“It’s been a long, tumultuous road, but we have traveled it well and we’ve been traveling it together,” Milton-Jones said. “And I know that with each passing game in December, we’re going to get better and stronger and faster and more efficient so that when we do tip off for conference (play), we should look the way that we should, as a well-oiled machine.”
Up next
Old Dominion will host VCU at 2 p.m. Sunday. The Rams defeated the Monarchs 62-49 in last year’s matchup.
William & Mary will host Richmond at 2 p.m. Sunday.
OLD DOMINION 70, WILLIAM & MARY 47 WILLIAM & MARY (0-1): Wagner 5-144-414, Rogers 3-113-39, Bellamy 2-60-05, Pollard 2-6 0-04, Eichner 2-30-24, Krause 2-51-26, Brown 1-60-03, Gilliam 0-62-22, Beckwith 0-20-00, Frisby-Smith 0-50-20, Totals 17-6410-1547.
Wayne 5-610-1521, Young 6-134-5 16, Morris 6-112-214, Adams 1-21-23, Robinson 0-50-20, Wheaton 4-61-29, Hudson 2-50-04, Carter 0-12-22, Thompson 0-21-21, Totals 24-51 21-3270.
Half: ODU 38-24. 3-point goals: W&M 3-21 (Wagner 0-5, Rogers 0-1, Bellamy 1-1, Pollard 0-2, Krause 1-3, Brown 1-4, Gilliam 0-2, Frisby-Smith 0-3), ODU 1-5(Wayne 1-2, Morris
0-1, Hudson 0-1, Thompson 0-1). Rebounds: W&M 39(Eichner 14), ODU 45(Wayne 15). Assists: W&M 10(Wagner 4), ODU 13(Adams
4). Turnovers: W&M 16, ODU 15. Fouls: W&M
25, ODU 17.