LADY MONARCHS WIN 11TH STRAIGHT CAA CHAMPIONSHIP; WILL TAKE ON GEORGIA IN NCAA TOURNEY
The Old Dominion Lady Monarchs won an NCAA-record 11th consecutive Colonial Athletic Association championship Saturday night to secure an NCAA tournament bid and will now face Georgia in the first round.
Old Dominion bested UNC-Wilmington, 76-48, in what was the last game at the university's storied Field House. The team will move to the Ted Constant Convocation Center next season.
Four Lady Monarchs were named to the All-Tournament team. Okeisha Howard of Virginia Beach was selected as tournament MVP. She was joined by teammates Lucienne Berthieu (Rennes, France), Monique Coker (Bronx, N.Y.) and Hamchetou Maiga (Bamako, Mali).
For complete coverage of the CAA Tournament, visit the Old Dominion athletics Web site at www.odusports.com.
The game between the number seven seed Old Dominion (25-5) and the 10th seeded Georgia Bulldogs will be broadcast live Saturday morning live on ESPN. Should Old Dominion advance, they will face the winner of the #2/#15 game featuring host institution Purdue (23-5) and Austin Peay (19-11).
This year will mark the Lady Monarchs 18th overall appearance in the tournament and will serve as the seventh seed for just the second time in history. Old Dominion also played in the tournament as the number seven seed back in 1993 defeating Tennessee Tech, 77-60, in the opening round before bowing out to Iowa 82-56.
The Lady Monarchs are led by senior CAA Player of the Year Berthieu, a three-time conference Player of the Year who missed all of last season due to an ACL injury. She currently leads the team with 13.5 points per game along with a 7.1 rebounding average. Additionally she ranks 12th in the nation in field goal percentage.
Junior Howard has returned back to form after suffering a fracture in her leg back in mid-January and checks in as the team's second leading scorer averaging 12.5 ppg. A First Team All-CAA selection, Maiga is third on the roster in scoring, netting an average of 11.5 points per contest.
The Lady Monarchs have faced Georgia just twice, in 1985 and 1996, and hold a 2-0 record. In fact, Old Dominion faced the Bulldogs in the NCAA Tournament in 1985 defeating Georgia 70-65 for the championship title.