WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — The Old Dominion women's basketball team ran its winning streak to four games with a 68-55 win at William & Mary on Sunday. The Monarchs (6-2) shot 42.9 percent from the field, forced 29 turnovers and received a season-high 24 points from Ajah Wayne.
"It was a good win, but we still have things to improve upon," head coach DeLisha Milton-Jones said. "When we see that the momentum is shifting and is going towards the other team, we have to learn how to be better. When we can control the tempo of the game, regardless of what the other team is doing, then we are on our way to being a great team."
ODU looked poised to run away with the game at halftime, leading 42-29 at the break. The Monarchs made 55.9 percent of their shot attempts during the opening 20 minutes, including an 11-of-18 (.611) mark in the second quarter, and committed only six turnovers.
After a back-and-forth start to the game, the Monarchs closed out the first quarter on a 12-2 run, turning an 8-6 deficit into an 18-12 advantage after 10 minutes. Old Dominion scored six unanswered during that span, highlighted by back-to-back field goals from Kaye Clark.
Clark finished the game with eight points, four assists and four steals – matching her season high in takeaways.
The Tribe cut the deficit to four points midway through the second quarter, but Old Dominion finished out the half by outscoring the hosts 19-10 over the final 4:51. After having their lead dwindle to four points, the Monarchs immediately responded with another 6-0 run to restore their double-digit advantage. Up eight points, Wayne corralled an offensive rebound and laid it back in to make it a 35-25 game with 1:29 left in the half, and the ODU lead never dipped below 10 points again.
Wayne notched 14 of her 24 points in the first half, going 6-of-10 from the floor and making her lone 3-point attempt. That trey came in the closing seconds of the half to send the Monarchs into the intermission with a 42-29 advantage.
A senior from Birmingham, Alabama. Wayne notched the 12th 20-point game of her career on Sunday. She shot 7-of-13 from the field and went to the foul line 12 times, making nine. In addition, Wayne grabbed six rebounds, had two assists and three steals. Her 24 points are the most scored by an ODU player this season.
ODU utilized a 14-2 run in the third quarter to build a 23-point lead, its largest of the game, at 58-35 with 1:31 to go in the period. Iggy Allen started the run with back-to-back baskets, including a trey at the 6:40 mark, before punctuating it with a takeaway and a transition layup 5:10 later.
Allen was responsible for nine of ODU's 16 points in the third quarter and finished the day with 16 on 7-of-14 shooting (2-of-3 from 3-point range) a game-high eight rebounds and three steals.
William & Mary scored the last six points of the third and then the first seven of the fourth quarter for a 13-0 run spanning nearly six total minutes of action. A pair of free throws from Ruthie Montella made it a 10-point game, 58-48, with 7:20 to play, but the Monarchs soon sprung back into full control of the game. After those foul shots, the Tribe did not score again for 5:39 as ODU put the game away with an 8-0 run. Wayne finished the run with a transition layup with a 1:52 to go.
The Tribe committed 29 turnovers on Sunday, the second-most by an ODU opponent this season. ODU was credited with 20 steals, its most since a 19-steal game against Alabama A&M on Dec. 21, 2012. All five Monarch starters had at least three steals, including a career-high matching five from Amari Young.
"I want us to hang our hats on what we do on the defensive end," Milton-Jones said. "That's where we can directly control the game and disrupt the game in a major way to turn defense into offense."
The Monarchs scored 22 points off W&M's 29 turnovers and outscored the Tribe 21-8 in fastbreak points.
"Defense is fun," Wayne said. "It opens up our offense. We generate our offense from our defense."
Old Dominion returns to Chartway Arena for its final two home nonconference games of the year against Bowie State on Wednesday and Norfolk State on Sunday.