ODU outduels Georgia Tech, Virginia, Virginia Tech roll

TODAY'S STAR

Jasmine Parker, ODU

The Lady Monarchs' senior drained two free throws with 4.6 seconds remaining to boost the Lady Monarchs past Georgia Tech 65-63 before 3,142 at the Constant Center.

NOTABLE NUGGETS

   - Brittani Shells scored 25 points and moved into fifth place on Richmond's all-time scoring list in a loss at East Tennessee State.

   - Chelsea Shine shines with 17 points and 15 rebounds as Virginia mashed Mount St. Mary's.

   - Georgia Tech made only 12 of 26 free throws in its two-point loss, including a pair of misses by freshman Tyuanna Marshall with four-tenths of a second left.

Told ya! - Virginia 81, Mount St. Mary's 58. We said - Virginia 72, Mount St. Mary's 52

Uh, we can explain... - ODU 65, Georgia Tech 63. We said - Georgia Tech 68, ODU 59

THE GAMES

Old Dominion 65, Georgia Tech 63: ODU fans shouldn't go scouring the Internet for Final Four tickets just yet. But there was definitely an optimistic vibe emanating from the Constant Center Sunday after the Lady Monarchs opened the 2010-11 campaign with their most significant non-conference victory since they took down Virginia in November of 2008. That was only two years ago. But to a fan base accustomed to CAA titles and NCAA tournament runs, it has been a long two years. During the offseason, we heard talk about improved conditioning and a new spirit within the team. But until we saw this team under fire, that's all it was - talk. That is, until Sunday, when we saw an essentially seven-player rotation of Lady Monarchs exploiting a quality Tech team in the halfcourt, digging in on defense and in our opinion competing harder than they did at any point in 2009-10. "It's a different team," ODU's Wendy Larry said. "They're fighters. We haven't seen a lot of that the last two years." We're starting to believe. Thursday's game against North Carolina A&T will be a test of a different sort. It's one thing to lay it all on the line against an ACC team. But will the Lady Monarchs bring that same passion into battle against a MEAC foe with considerably less pedigree? If so, this could be an intriguing Lady Monarchs season. Larry said Sunday's result "puts us right away on the national radar." If this is the way her players intend to compete, they just might stay there.

Virginia 81, Mount St. Mary's 58: Shine struggled in Friday's opener at Hofstra, but said seeing so many of her teammates assert themselves against the Pride helped her to relax and do her own thing Sunday. She still had plenty of support, though, as Ariana Moorer (12 points), freshman Kelsey Wolfe (12), Telia McCall (10) and Whitny Edwards (10) all joined Shine in double figures. Now the Cavaliers (2-0) move on to Knoxville for Thursday's date with mighty Tennessee. Said Cavs coach Debbie Ryan: "Tennessee is really talented, but we match up well and I think we will be ready." The Cavs match up well? We'll see, Coach. We'll see.
Virginia update: From the Washington Post - Cavaliers point guard China Crosby will undergo an MRI Monday on her surgically repaired left knee after re-injuring it during Friday's victory over Hofstra.

Virginia Tech 93, Wofford 53: Now that's more like it. After stumbling out of the blocks before surviving Presbyterian on Friday, Tech (2-0) thoroughly dismantled this outmanned foe. Six Hokies finished in double figures, and freshmen Monet Tellier (a team-high 11 points) and Nia Evans continued to impress. The rookie duo combined to score 13 of the game's first 15 points. “Both of these freshmen have competed at very high levels,” Hokies coach Beth Dunkenberger said. “They bring speed and athletic ability to the team. They have come in with a lot of experience and they are physically ready to play.”

East Tennessee State 96, Richmond 84: The Spiders (1-1) forced 30 turnovers and succeeded in speeding the game up. Unfortunately, these Lady Bucs (2-0) apparently like speed. They're also adept at shooting free throws as they connected on 29 of 34, including a 25-for-25 combined effort from Martinsville's Latisha Belcher (19 points, 11 rebounds) and Tara Davis (27 points).

Wisconsin 65, William and Mary 38: As expected, the Tribe (0-1) did a decent job defending but simply couldn't produce enough points (26.9 percent shooting). "We took some bad shots, we missed some easy shots, five or six of the shots were open layups, and we shot 50 percent from the free throw line," Tribe coach Debbie Taylor said. "If you are going to come up here and play a Big Ten team, you have to put the ball in the basket. I was proud of the defensive effort for about 70 percent of the game. But offensively we just have to be more patient and score.” Junior Taysha Pye led the Tribe with 12 points; it was her 40th career double-figures scoring game.