On a Saturday when Old Dominion women’s basketball’s past was celebrated, the present team escaped with a key victory.
Simaru Fields hit two free throws for the final points as ODU beat Marshall 84-82 in overtime at Chartway Arena in the Anne Donovan Classic, which annually honors one of ODU’s late greats. Meanwhile, Adrienne Goodson, who helped ODU to the 1985 national championship and starred for later teams, had her jersey retired.
ODU (12-7, 4-3) climbed above .500 in Sun Belt play. The Thundering Herd (15-5, 6-2), which began the day tied for first in the Sun Belt, trailed by as many as 20 points. Marshall’s only lead in regulation was 3-2.
En’Dya Buford scored 21 points, while Fields had 16, Simone Cunningham 15 and Riley Stack 10. Timaya Lewis-Eutsey led Marshall with 31 points, while Meredith Maier had 14.
ODU was sensational offensively in the first half, which ended at 52-35. The Monarchs went ahead 61-41 on a Buford layup with 5:55 to go in the third quarter, then cooled off. Marshall came storming back, narrowing the gap to 64-57 before the fourth quarter started.
Leading 70-61, ODU didn’t score in the last 4:17 of regulation. Lewis-Eutsey went 1 of 2 at the free-throw line with 16 seconds left, and regulation ended 70-70.
In OT, Marshall went ahead 79-76, but the Monarchs answered with six straight points, finished with two Stack free throws with 12 seconds left. Maier sank a tying 3-pointer for Marshall with 8 seconds to go, but Fields drew a foul and hit two free throws at 0:06. After a timeout, Marshall failed to get a tying attempt off before the clock struck zeroes.
Norfolk State 85, South Carolina State 41: Da’Brya Clark set an NSU single-game record by hitting nine 3-pointers, netted 30 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as the Spartans (8-11, 3-1 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) dominated the Bulldogs (5-14, 2-2) in Orangeburg. Anjanae Richardson had 13 points, Jasha Clinton had 11 points and 12 rebounds, and LeAire Nicks had 10 points and eight rebounds.
SCSU hit just 25% (13 of 53) and had no double-digit scorer.
Salisbury 71, Christopher Newport 67, OT: The Captains (14-4), who had just entered the d3hoops.com poll at No. 25, were upset by the Sea Gulls (11-6) in overtime at Freeman Center.
The Captains couldn’t overcome 28.7% field-goal shooting (25 of 87), including 5 of 37 from 3-point range.
Nicole Miller had 28 points and five assists for Salisbury. Her layup with 9 seconds remaining in regulation forced overtime.
For CNU, Madison McKenzie had 18 points, 10 rebounds and four steals. McKenna Snively added 15 points, Jessica Dornak had 11 points and 14 rebounds, and Elizabeth Creed had eight points and 10 rebounds.
Virginia Wesleyan 74, Roanoke 50: The Marlins (9-6, 3-3 Old Dominion Athletic Conference) had little trouble with the Maroons (7-8, 1-5) at TowneBank Arena.
Brianna Long had 19 points and 15 rebounds for VWU, while Keira Bagwell had 15 points and four rebounds. Maesyn Blaylock had nine points, five assists and four rebounds.
Alicea Farmer put in 13 points for Roanoke, which shot just 28%.
Apprentice 49, South Carolina Central Christian 33: The Builders (9-4, 3-0 New South Athletic Conference) held the visitors to 19.4% field-goal shooting (12 of 62).
Apprentice’s Ronnice Berry continued her pattern of frequent double-doubles, collecting 21 points and 15 rebounds. Shilah-Rayn Lord had 13 points and nine rebounds, and Joy Wright had nine points and nine rebounds.
Denmark Technical College 70, Tidewater Community College 59: The first-year Storm (2-8) lost at Apprentice Athletic Center to the South Carolina-based Panthers, who outscored TCC 21-10 in the fourth quarter.
TCC’s Mackenzie Whitehead scored 17 points, while Reagan Licata had 12 points, 12 rebounds and five steals.
Bryant & Stratton 78, Wake Technical Community College 73: The Bobcats (15-2, 10-1 conference), ranked 13th in National Junior College Athletic Association Division II, earned a victory over a North Carolina squad in Atlantic Shores’ gym.
Myla Parker had 22 points and eight rebounds, while Sian Lewin had 17 points, five rebounds and four assists. Janiyaha Pickett added 11 points, six rebounds and five assists. Carissa Frederick added 10 points and 10 rebounds.
James Madison 67, Georgia Southern 60: Peyton McDaniel’s 22 points, five steals and 12 rebounds propelled the Dukes (13-7, 5-3 Sun Belt) in Harrisonburg.
Lake Taylor High alumna Ashanti Barnes had 13 points for JMU. McKenna Eddings, a Warhill High graduate, had 14 points for the Eagles (13-5, 6-2).
No. 10 TCU 78, Arizona 62: Olivia Miles scored 16 points, Clara Silva had 15 points and 11 rebounds, and TCU (18-1, 6-1 Big 12) extended its home winning streak to 37 games with a victory in Fort Worth, Texas. The Horned Frogs tied No. 4 Texas for the nation’s longest current home winning streak while holding a 30th consecutive opponent to fewer than 70 points.
Miles was 1 of 8 from 3-point range, but her only make broke a 35-35 tie and put the Horned Frogs up for good in the third quarter. Sumayah Sugapong scored 17 points for the Wildcats (10-7, 1-5).