Boxscore

NORFOLK, Va. -- The University of Delaware women’s basketball team jumped out to an 8-0 lead to start the game and led for most of the first half, but with a limited roster void of its leading rebounder, Ariene Jenkins, and three players in foul trouble for most of the second half, the 17-time defending CAA champion Monarchs took the game over and handed Delaware a 70-55 loss.

“We came out at the opening with great focus and intensity,” head coach Tina Martin said. “But down the stretch, our execution and our foul trouble hurt us. ODU is so big, you’re not going to keep them off the boards forever, especially when you’ve got people with four fouls. We gave a great effort though.”

Delaware (12-12, 4-9) was led by junior guard Corinthia Benison, who scored 16 of her career-high tying 18 points in the second half as she tried to keep the Hens in the game.

Sophomore guard Vanessa Kabongo posted 12 points and four steals and freshman guard Jocelyn Bailey had her second straight double-figure game as she scord 10 to go with four thefts. Delaware has now had at least three scorers in double-figures for seven straight games.

Old Dominion, which had lost four of its last six games including its last against Drexel, improved to 14-9 (9-4 CAA) for the season. The Monarchs were led by four scorers in double figures including Jen Nuzzo’s 18 points on a perfect shooting day.

Nuzzo was 7-of-7 from the field (2-of-2 from behind the arc), and 2-of-2 from the foul line. Shadasia Green also had a big day for ODU with 15 points and Jessica Canady and Tiffany Green each added 12. Canady also had team-highs in rebounds (8) and assists (4).

The Blue Hens, who were without Jenkins because of a concussion she suffered in the win over William & Mary on Wed. night, were outrebounded 39-31, outscored in the paint 30-20 and they surrendered 15 second chance points to the Monarchs, who came into the game with the best rebounding offense in the conference at 17.5 ofensive rebounds per game. Consequently, Delaware committed a season-high 23 fouls and ODU cashed in by converting 16-of-22 free throws.

Senior forward Ethlynne Thomas started in place of Jenkins and she and sophomore forward Eva Riddick held Tiffany Green to just two points in the first half. Both would pick up their third and fourth fouls early in the second half, however, which allowed Green to score 10 points in the second half. Riddick finished with six points and a career-high 10 rebounds on the day.

Delaware won the opening tip as Thomas gathered Riddick’s flick of the ball and pushed the ball up the court to sophomore guard Tesia Harris who hit the open jumper just six seconds into the game.

In the first minute and 15 seconds of the game, ODU turned the ball over twice and missed a lay-up as Kabongo added six more points to Harris’ opening jumper and the Hens were quickly up 8-0, forcing ODU coach Wendy Larry to call a 30-second timeout.

The Monarchs would then respond with an 8-0 run of their own led by four points by Shadasia Green and they quickly tied the scorer at eight apiece. Delaware would then go up four points only to have ODU tie it right back up again.

A jumper by Bailey near the 10-minute mark gave Delaware its largest lead of the game, 18-12, but ODU would go on a 20-8 run from there to take a 33-26 lead at the half.

The turning point of the game came near the six-minute mark. The Blue Hens were clinging to a three-point lead when freshman Jasmine Gibson was charged with a foul as Canady was in the act of shooting and then a subsequent technical foul for some extra-curricular activity following the play. The two fouls (Gibson's third and fourth of the game) gave ODU four straight shots at the line and Canady sank all of them to give the Monarchs their first lead of the game, 23-22. All Delaware could manage in the last 6:42 of the first half were two foul shots apiece from Bailey and Benison.

Old Dominion would then use an 11-2 run to start the second half as the closest Delaware would get was within nine nearing the 18-minute mark. Delaware, which continued to fight the whole second half, also closed the game to 11 at the 5:11 mark after falling down by as much as 17, but ODU regrouped and pushed its lead to 19 - the biggest lead it had all day. Lay-ups in the final minute of the game by Bailey and Benison would make the final score a 15-point margin of defeat, 70-55.

Delaware next has its second of three straight road games as the Hens take on Drexel in Philadelphia on Thursday, Feb. 19.

AGATE:

DELAWARE (12-12, 4-9)
Riddick, 2-3 2-3 6; Thomas, 0-0 1-2 1; Kabongo, 4-15 4-4 12; Benison, 5-14 7-9 18; Harris, 4-7 0-0 8; Bailey, 3-13 4-4 10; Gibson, 0-1 0-0 0; McLean, 0-0 0-0 0; Totals, 18-53 18-22 31.

OLD DOMINION (14-9, 9-4)
Canady, 2-9 8-9 12; S. Green, 7-13 1-1 15; T. Green, 6-11 0-2 12; Parker, 2-5 0-0 4; Nuzzo, 7-7 2-2 18; Buchan, 0-3 0-0 0; Tate-Dublin, 0-2 3-4 3; Little, 2-5 2-4 6; Totals, 26-55 16-22 39.

Halftime Score: ODU 33, Delaware 26; Three-Point Field Goals: UD – 1-6 (Benison 1-3), ODU – 2-6 (Nuzzo 2-2); Rebounds: UD – 31 (Riddick 10), ODU – 39 (Canady, T.Green 8). Assists: UD – 5 (Thomas 2), ODU – 18 (Nuzzo, Canady 4). Total Fouls: UD – 23, ODU – 21. Attendance – 4,522.