BOCA RATON, Fla. — In come-from-behind fashion, Old Dominion (5-3, 2-2 C-USA) took down Florida Atlantic on the road, 77-72 Saturday afternoon to notch its second-straight C-USA victory. Junior Ajah Wayne once again led the way for the Monarchs, posting her second-straight double-double, putting together 19 points and 12 boards.
Coming out of the final media timeout with 5:02 left in the contest, ODU trailed the Owls by eight points. But, Aziah Hudson scored six of her 12 points in a two-minute span with back-to-back triples, along with buckets from Amari Young and Wayne to give ODU a two-point lead with 2:59 remaining on the clock. The Monarchs proceeded to continue its powerful run the remainder of the period and outscored the Owls, 21-11 in the fourth quarter.
"I felt like we were distracted by too many things and we needed to bring it back to what we were doing and not what was going on or what was happening to us," said head coach DeLisha Milton-Jones. "What were we doing to contribute to them (FAU) having the momentum, the refs making the calls that they were making, so once we regathered the troops and we centered our focus on us and what we knew was in that scouting report that would help us win the game, that's when things changed for us."
The Owls (2-6, 0-4 C-USA) made it tough on ODU the entire contest, scoring 27 of their points off of Monarch turnovers.
In the first quarter of action, ODU and FAU traded baskets to open the first four minutes of play. It was not until Victoria Morris drew a foul with 5:30 on the clock that ODU picked up its momentum and opened up a 17-8 scoring run to close out the first quarter, leading the Owls, 26-16.
ODU gave up its 10-point lead early on in the second quarter. FAU knotted up the contest with 7:47 left before the break via 10 unanswered points. The Monarchs responded with a Hudson triple to regain the lead. For the following two minutes, ODU and FAU traded baskets, and the game remained tied at the 5:49 mark. The Owls dominated the remainder of the period and went into the locker room with a five-point lead over ODU.
FAU held onto its momentum in the third quarter, but ODU continued to fight off the Owl offense. Wayne and Young were the only two Monarchs to pour in points in the third quarter. The two juniors combined for 18 points in the third frame, going 7-for-10 from the field, helping ODU stay afloat and matching FAU's 18 third quarter points.
Heading into the final quarter of play, ODU trailed the Owls by five points. An Iggy Allen layup opened up the FAU lead but things quickly changed when Young drilled a jump shot after the last media timeout. A 12-0 run in the final three minutes of play propelled ODU past FAU by five points.
"It has to be everyone contributing. You can't think that we're the team from last year because you have a different coach with a different mentality and we have to play according to that. I see beyond what they see in terms of their abilities on the defensive and the offensive end. So we want to come out every night and showcase that."
