NORFOLK, VA (WTKR)- For awhile it looked like Old Dominion might hang around in its women's basketball showdown with NC State, but eventually the Wolfpack showed why its the third-ranked team in the country.
The visitors ended the first half on an 18-2 run to pull away and handed the Monarchs their second straight loss, 87-50, at Chartway Arena on Wednesday night. Old Dominion (8-2) took a 19-18 advantage early in the second quarter, but NC State took control from that point forward.
Despite the defeat, head coach Delisha Milton-Jones left feeling pretty good about the effort.
"I think it was a win for us in certain areas," she pointed out. "We were able to see a lot of players play, we were able to see a lot of good things happen from all the players that played, we still saw things that we could potentially work on, so we're going to be better from all of this."
The Wolfpack (12-0) put six players in double figures, led by Madison Hayes and her 17 points. Princess Anne graduate Aziaha James scored 16 points in her homecoming in front of friends and family. James used 42 tickets to Wednesday's contest at Chartway Arena. NC State shot 54 percent from the floor, knocking down 10 three-pointers in the process, and held the Monarchs to just 25 percent shooting.
Brenda Fontana led ODU with 12 points and Nnenna Orji chipped in 10 points. The Monarchs were out-rebounded, 49-35. While some of the stats, along with the score, might appear lopsided, Milton-Jones noted the height and the skill of the Wolfpack and was much happier Wednesday than she was following Saturday's defeat at VCU.
"This game, I loved the way we presented ourselves from start to finish," the head coach said. "You can hear this in my voice and you can see it in my face that I'm pleased. I'm pleased and it's not the end of the world."
The Monarchs now have a 10 day break with no games before diving into their Sun Belt Conference schedule. They'll open their league slate on December 30 at South Alabama. Tipoff is set for 2:00 PM.
