The unofficial online home for fans of the Old Dominion University Monarchs. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

On Sunday the Monarchs will take on the #13 nationally ranked NC Wolfpack from the Kay Yow Court at James T. Valvano Arena at Reynolds Coliseum. This is a return game for ODU, as last year they ODU 73-56 at the Ted. That team went 26-9 and eventually fell to national runner-up Mississippi St 57-71 in the Sweet 16 game.

This season the Wolfpack is 7-0. This is the team’s best start since the went 14-0 back in the 1999-2000 season. Currently they have an RPI ranking of 5, a SOS ranking of 23.
Vs Belmont W 77-62 Record: 4-2 RPI: 33
Vs Kent St W 78-61 Record: 3-3 RPI: 196
Vs Vanderbilt W 74-54 Record: 3-4 RPI: 149
Vs Radford W 75-58 Record: 3-2 RPI: 171
Cancun Challenge
Vs Michigan St W 78-74 Record: 5-1 RPI: 59
Vs George Washington W 69-61 Record: 2-5 RPI: 203
ACC/B1G Challenge
@ Michigan W: 66-55 Record: 5-2 RPI: 22
Vs ODU Record: 5-1 RPI: 41

With the exception of the Cancun Challenge, they have played at home where they haven’t lost to a non-ACC school since Dec 13, 2015. They have a 23 game win streak against non-ACC teams at home. Bottom line, playing in Raleigh is not easy.

Wolfpack Starting Five
23 Grace Hunter 5’9” Rd Jr 15.4 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 2.8 apg, 52.6 FG%, 29.2 3P%, 91.3 FT%, 30.7 mpg
11 Kiara Leslie 6’0” G Gr 13.6 ppg, 9.3 rpg, 2.7 apg, 38.7 FG%, 32.1 3P%, 58.3 FT%, 33.3 mpg
01 Aislinn Konig 5’9” G Jr 11.9 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 4.4 apg, 42.3 FG%, 42.6 3P%, 36.3 mpg
21 DD Rogers 6’1” F Sr 2.7 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 1.1 apg, 50.0 FG%, 33.3 3P%, 80.0 FT%, 14.7 mpg
24 Erika Cassell 6’2” F Jr 5.4 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 0.2 apg, 37.8 FG%, 40.0 3P%, 80 FT%, 17.1 mpg
Top Bench
33 Elissa Cunane 6’5” C Fr 13.3 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 1.2 apg, 61.1 FG%, 75.0 FT%, 21.1 mpg
25 Kayla Jones 6’1” F So 5.6 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 1.1 apg, 45.9 FG%, 27.8 3P%, 0.00 FT%, 21.1 mpg
03 Kai Ealey 5’9” G Gr 5.0 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 1.9 apg, 41.4 FG%, 33.3 3P%, 75.0 FT%, 19.7 mpg

Aislinn “Ace” Konig makes the engine go. Her 3.44 assist to turnover ratio ranks 10th nationally. Almost all of her shots come from beyond the arc, she has yet to take a free throw attempt threw seven games. She doesn’t play inside much, having only one offensive board this season. She relies on Grace Hunter to play down below and the big 6’5” freshman Cunane does a great job of controlling the paint. Hunter is shooting 62.2 from non-three point attempts and Cunane has a 61.1 FG% while leading the team in free throws taken in limited minutes. (Translation….she plays down low and takes a lot of shots) Hunter’s 91.3 FT% ranks 26th nationally. She is money at the line. With that said, almost every one on the team is willing to take a three. So the Wolfpack will test our defense.
They don’t have the length that UVA has but they have better athletes. They are a solid rebounding team too.

Inside the Numbers
……………NCST……ODU
PPG……….73.9….75.5
OPPG…….60.7….67.7
FG%........45.8….38.9
OFG%.....35.8….35.6
3P%........35.3….32.5
O3P%.....34.4….25.4
3PMG…..7.6……6.8
FT%.......73.4….63.8
FTMPG..11.4….17.3
RPG………43.1….45.2
OpRPG…33.4…..42.3
APG……..16.1…..13.5
TPG…….15.1…….12.7
SPG…….6.0……….7.8
BPG……3.3……….3.2
Ast/TO ratio
NC St: 1.1, ODU: 1.1

ODU’s Taylor Edwards apg of 5.8 is fantastic. Currently she ranks 30th in the nation. That is something to keep your eye on the future. It will be interesting to see how Dejah Carter does after crowned the MVP of the tournament. This is a brutal test for the young Monarchs, but I think Nikki’s team of never back down will give us some entertainment.

I'll be there tomorrow cheering on the ladies. Reynolds is totally revamped from it's old days when historic men's ACC games were played there (men now play at the RBC arena), it's a great venue. I'm hoping we can keep it close.

Live feed of the game (free)

http://www.espn.com/watch/_/id/3454636/o...basketball

Getting lots of looks at the basket, just not converting into points early on.

NC State 14, ODU 12. I didn't see the foul by the NC State player on Edwards at the 1:09 mark...but as a fan I'll take.....

Good news it we are playing well enough and have the good looks to be in the lead. Bad news is we are down 2 after 1Q. Let’s clean it up and beat NCST! Man this is a team worth supporting. So proud of our ladies.

Nothing is falling in the 2nd quarter... somebody take the lid off the rim

Yea that went downhill quickly. I honestly expected to lose big, so I loved what I saw in the first quarter. This team is going nowhere but up. Let’s push the second half and get it back to a respectable amount!

Wayne is having a rough day using the backboard... hopefully we get to see the Dejah Carter from the Charleston tournament in the 2nd half.

Down 30 late in the 3rd. Bummer.

Growing pains. Time to see what they are made of.

This schedule is going to pay off for us during conference time.

Tough loss to a very talented and physically dominant team. ODU showed some grit against a ranked opponent, but it was too little against a superior team. Some bright spots: Ajah Wayne grabbed a game high 15 rebounds (wow), Maggie Robinson scored 17, Ann Jernigan scored 12. ODU did manage to put up more shots than NCState (84-69). Maybe some sets could have been run with a bit more patience, but if a few more 3s and a few more layups had fallen, we might have been discussing an entirely different game. Two wins to get before heading to New Orleans for the Christmas tournament. Enjoyed the game. Enjoying this team.

(12-03-2018 07:24 AM)eastcoastDave Wrote:  Tough loss to a very talented and physically dominant team. ODU showed some grit against a ranked opponent, but it was too little against a superior team. Some bright spots: Ajah Wayne grabbed a game high 15 rebounds (wow), Maggie Robinson scored 17, Ann Jernigan scored 12. ODU did manage to put up more shots than NCState (84-69). Maybe some sets could have been run with a bit more patience, but if a few more 3s and a few more layups had fallen, we might have been discussing an entirely different game. Two wins to get before heading to New Orleans for the Christmas tournament. Enjoyed the game. Enjoying this team.

I was there, well said.