SECOND HALF RALLY SENDS OLD DOMINION TO CHAMPIONSHIP GAME, 50-49
HARRISONBURG, Va. (March 13,
2010) - Top-seeded Old Dominion outscored No. 5 Delaware 29-16 in the final 20
minutes to rally from a 12-point halftime deficit and take the 50-49 victory in
the first semifinal of the 2010 Virginia 529 College Savings Plan CAA Women's
Basketball Championship.
The Lady Monarchs (18-12)
advance to tomorrow's championship game against the winner of the #2 James Madison/#3
VCU matchup. Tip-off for the title game is 12:30 p.m. and can be seen
regionally on Comcast SportsNet.
ODU was led by senior
Jessica Canady (Williamsburg, Va.), who scored a team-high 11 points. Sophomore
Tia Lewis (Poulan, Ga.) posted a double-double with 10 points and a game-high
11 rebounds, while sophomore Mairi Buchan (Stirlingshire, Scotland) chipped in 10
points, respectively.
Freshman Elena Delle Donne
(Wilmington, Del.) led all scorers with a game-high 30 points and all of UD's
final 19 points of the game, including 16 in the second half. Delaware falls to
21-11 with the defeat. The CAA Player and Rookie of the Year also brought down
a team-high eight boards. Junior Tesia Harris (Dix Hills, N.Y.) tallied eight
points, all of which came in the first half.
Both teams struggled from
the field, with the Lady Monarchs shooting nearly 35 percent (20-58), while the
Hens managed just under 33 percent (17-52) from the floor. ODU held a 40-36
rebound advantage and hit 8-of-9 from the charity stripe.
Down 4-2, the Lady
Monarchs scored seven-unanswered points to grab the 9-4 advantage with 15:25
remaining in the first half. The Hens came right back with six points, capped
off by a pair of Jasmine Gibson (New Castle, Del.) layups to give UD the 10-9
lead with just over 12 minutes to go.
Delaware trailed 16-14,
but regained the lead with a Delle Donne three pointer at the 8:11 mark in the
opening stanza. That trey sparked 12-2 run over the next four minutes to give
UD a 26-18 lead.
Leading by five at 26-21,
the Hens closed the first half with a 7-0 run, capped off by a Delle Donne leaning
three from the right wing as the buzzer sounded to give them a commanding 33-21
advantage into the locker room.
Old Dominion opened the
second half with a 6-1 run and held UD to without a basket for the first 8:21
of the second frame to trim the lead to 34-27. The Lady Monarchs closed to
within four, at 39-35 when Shadasia Green (Paterson, N.J.) drove the lane for
the bucket with 8:20 to go in regulation.
Delle Donne answered back
with six of the game's next eight points to give Delaware a 45-37 lead with
5:17 left. ODU took its first lead, 46-45, since the 8:11 mark of the first
half when Buchan hit a running jumper with 1:35 to go in regulation.
Delaware took back the
lead one second later when Delle Donne was fouled and hit both free throws.
Buchan responded with another running jumper with 1:11 to go. The rookie, who
finished the game shooting 10-of-13 from the line, sank another pair of free
throws before Lewis got the layup off the Buchan miss to give ODU a 50-49 lead
with 22.6 seconds to go.
The Hens had one last
possession but Delle Donne's shot in traffic in the closing seconds fell in the
hand of the Lady Monarchs to send ODU to its 18th CAA championship
appearance in 19 seasons. ODU improves to 4-0 all-time against Delaware in the
CAA tournament. The Lady Monarchs captured three wins over the Blue Hens this
season by a total of four points.