NORFOLK, Va. — NORFOLK, Va. (WTKR) — For much of the Sun Belt schedule, Old Dominion has found itself coming up on the wrong side of close games, losing six games in the league by five points or less.
On Saturday, the Monarchs finally got to celebrate the other side.
Simaru Fields banked in a three-point shot with 2.4 seconds to play to deliver the silver and blue a 68-66 win over Georgia Southern on Senior Day.
"I had the moment so many times, Coach (Delisha Milton-Jones) has drawn up that play so many times, we've been in that moment so many times," Fields said. "When it left my hands and I knew it was going in."
"There was an angel sitting on the rim waiting to will it through."
— Zach Staton (@ZStatonSports) February 22, 2025
After suffering plenty of heartbreak this season in close games, @ODU_WBB gets its moment to shine thanks to Simaru Fields and a bank open on the weekend. @WTKR3 pic.twitter.com/1bp57A4ege
After the two teams traded the lead through the fourth quarter, the Eagles took a 66-65 advantage with 46 seconds left to go. Both squads traded missed shots and ODU got the ball back with 22 seconds left. With a timeout to her disposal, Delisha Milton-Jones elected to trust her gut and her players.
"I saw the lineup that we had, I saw the opportunity. Overloaded on one side, we got a good ball screen coming," said the Monarch head coach. "(Fields) was able to shake loose and hit a big shot."
The transfer guard put a magical finishing touch on a clutch second half, with all of 11 of her points in the game came in the final 20 minutes.
After not winning a home game in 36 days and falling in eight of nine games, ODU has put together back-to-back victories inside Chartway Arena for the first time since January 15.
"We deserved it. With how much work we put in and how much we've put together trying to focus on our culture," Fields said. "It finally just came together and we're just trying to build on top of that."
"36 days that it took us to get a win, that's a long time to go without a win," Milton-Jones said. "Any team could just implode but we continue to fight and work on things that we know that we need to on a daily basis to continue to get better."
Simone Cunningham finished her last home game in the silver and blue with nine points and a team-high 10 rebounds. Kelsey Thompson led the way on the scoreboard with 14 points while Brenda Fontana contributed 12.
ODU sits at 16-13 on the season and 8-8 in the Sun Belt with just a pair of games remaining before the conference tournament. The long losing streak took a toll on the Monarchs, but a win like Saturday's giving the team hope that their best days are still on the horizon.
"The goal is to get to the conference tournament peaking in the right way, and I'm loving what I'm seeing," Milton-Jones said. "We're learning how to win big and we're learning how to win close."
Old Dominion heads to Coastal Carolina on Wednesday to tip-off its final two games of the regular season.
