NORFOLK, VA (WTKR)- Delisha Milton-Jones is entering season number five at the head of the Old Dominion women's basketball program. If things add up the way she thinks they can, it could end up being the best campaign of her tenure to date.
Milton-Jones gave an optimistic outlook for the Monarchs' upcoming season during Sun Belt Media Day on Wednesday afternoon. ODU, which was picked to finish third in the conference, added 10 new players to four returning key pieces.
"We have a lot more length, better shooting and, of course, we want to put in that defensive work that we are accustomed to showing night in and night out," the head coach pointed out. "We have three Power Fours on our schedule and we have a lot of other healthy competition that will prepare us for the rigors of the Sun Belt Conference."
Old Dominion is seeking its fourth consecutive season of 20 or more victories. The silver and blue have advanced to the conference semifinals in each of the last two years, but hope they can take that next step this season. The program has not seen the NCAA Tournament since 2008 and Milton-Jones thinks she has the pieces that can collectively get over that hump.
"We built this team to be able to not just get to the line, but cross the line," noted Milton-Jones. "I think we've established ourselves as a program that is committed to winning and doing whatever it takes to get that job done. Now it's time for us to be able to get to that point with high expectations of doing so, but then crossing the line and checking off that box of being able to call ourselves a champion."
En'Dya Buford returns after leading ODU in scoring last season with 12.4 points per game. Brenda Fontana, Simone Cunningham and Mikayla Brown make up the rest of the returners, with Cunningham leading the squad in rebounds a year ago with 6.9 per contest. One big addition for Milton-Jones and her staff is junior Kelsey Thompson, who was the Sun Belt Freshman of the Year in 2022-2023 with South Alabama. She paced the Jaguars last season with 12.0 points per game.
"The thing that I'm most pleased with is our culture on and off of the floor," Milton-Jones said. "I think the players have done a tremendous job of policing themselves and buying into whatever philosophy or identity that we want to display for the season. I love the fact that the togetherness that they show off the court, it also pays big dividends for us on the court in play."
Old Dominion opens its 2024-2025 campaign November 4 on the road at Ball State. The Monarchs' first home game is November 11 when they host Morgan State at Chartway Arena.
