The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebels Fall At Old Dominion 75-66
12/6/2009 | Women's Basketball
NORFOLK, Va. - Tia Lewis scored 15 points and pulled down a career-high 17 rebounds to lead a trio of Old Dominion players in double figures en route to a 75-66 victory over Ole Miss Sunday afternoon from the Ted Constant Convention Center.
Lewis tallied 13 points in the second half and scored several easy baskets to help the Lady Monarchs hold a 36-28 edge in points in the paint.
Shadasia Green paced Old Dominion with 16 points, while Vicki Collier added 12 points.
Bianca Thomas led Ole Miss with 25 points and hit five-three pointers, while Shantell Black finished with 17 points and four assists. Kayla Melson added 12 points and a game-high seven assists, while Katorra Lewis grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds.
Old Dominion (1-5) closed the first half and opened the second stanza on a 7-0 run to take a 39-33 lead with just under two minutes gone by in the final period. The Rebels chipped away over the next few minutes and took a 44-43 lead midway through the half on a jumper in the lane by Melson.
The Lady Monarchs regained the lead on the ensuing possession with a pair of free throws from Lewis, but Ole Miss scored the next four points to open up a 48-45 lead at the 12:50 mark of the second half. The two teams went back-and-forth for the next two minutes and traded the lead two different times.
Melson connected on another jumper at the free throw line to put Ole Miss up by a point at 50-49, but Carolann Cloutier hit a three-pointer on the other end to put Old Dominion ahead by two points. Black quickly pushed the ball up the floor for Ole Miss and hit a leaner in the paint to even the score at 52-52. The lead evaporated on the following possession as Mairi Buchan scored on a jumper in the paint to give the Lady Monarchs a 54-52 advantage.
Ole Miss (6-2) managed to tie the game four more times over the next three minutes, but the Lady Monarchs answered with points every time the Rebels needed a stop. Ole Miss fought to even the score at 60-60 with just over four minutes to play and forced a missed shot from Jasmine Parker, but Tia Lewis recorded one of her eight offensive rebounds and put Old Dominion back up by two points with a tip-in.
The Lady Monarchs stretched their lead to four points on the following play by forcing an Ole Miss turnover and turning it into a easy basket in transition. Katorra Lewis pulled the Rebels to within two points with 1:45 left on the clock, but Collier answered for ODU with a layup to thwart the Ole Miss rally.
The Rebels scored only one point over the final 1:14 and Old Dominion went 6-for-7 from the free throw line down to stretch to post its first win of the season.
Ole Miss lead by as many as 12 points in the first half before going cold from the field for a stretch of 6:34, allowing Old Dominion to use a 11-0 run to crawl within one point midway through the first half.
Ole Miss returns to action Sunday at 1 p.m. when the Rebels welcome third-ranked Ohio State to Tad Smith Coliseum.
