Dec. 18, 2012
WORLD VISION CLASSIC RUNDOWN
Wednesday, Dec. 19 - 8:30 p.m. (ET)
Old Dominion (6-1) at UNLV (3-6)
Cox Pavilion (2,500) - Las Vegas, Nevada
94.1 ESPN Radio
Play-by-play: Tony Mercurio
Wednesday Live Stats: Gametracker
Wednesday Live Audio: ODUSports.com
ODU Game Notes
World Vision Classic Tournament Home
NORFOLK, Va. - The Old Dominion University women's basketball team returns to action on Wednesday after breaking for final exams when they face host UNLV at 8:30 p.m. (ET) at the Cox Pavilion in the World Vision Classic in Las Vegas.
WORLD VISION CLASSIC FIELDJoined by host UNLV (3-6), the field includes a pair of nationally ranked teams in No. 23/25 Texas A&M (6-3), the 2011 national champions and No. 5/5 Notre Dame (6-1), the runner-up in each of the last two national championship games.
Also in the field along with ODU is Kansas State (7-1) and Alabama A&M (1-5). All games in the three-day tournament will be played at UNLV’s Cox Pavilion.
AMONG THE NATION'S ELITE
Old Dominion is ranked in the top-20 nationally out of 343 teams in the following categories: #5 in three-point FG defense (21.1%), #8 in scoring defense (47.6 ppg), #18 in FG % defense (32.5%) and #19 in turnover margin (7.14). The Lady Monarch have forced 174 turnovers in seven games this year (24.9 per game).
The Lady Monarchs lead the following categories in the CAA: Assists (15.7 per game), Turnover Margin (+7.1), 3-pt FG % defense (21.1%) and Scoring Margin (+16.3). ODU is second in Scoring Defense (47.6 ppg), FG % defense (32.5%), Steals (11.9 per game) and Assist/Turnover Ratio (0.9).
SERIES HISTORY
Wednesday’s meeting will be the first meeting ever between Old Dominion and UNLV in women’s hoops.
SCOUTING THE LADY REBELS
The Lady Rebels have started off the 2012-13 season with a record of 3-6. UNLV is coming off a 61-46 loss at UTSA. UNLV has already participated in three other tournaments this season, going a combined 2-4 in those tournaments.
Head Coach Kathy Oliver is in her fifth year at the helm of the UNLV women’s program.
The Lady Rebels are coming off their best season in almost a decade, after a 22-10 record that earned them their first postseason trip (WNIT) since the 2005-06 season. UNLV also claimed its first-ever top two regular-season finish in the Mountain West with a 10-4 record. Though four seniors graduated, UNLV does return a backcourt featuring two all-conference guards, seniors Kelli Thompson and Mia Bell. Thompson is the third-highest leader returning scorer in the MW after posting 14.3 points per game last season, and currently ranks 13th all-time at UNLV in career scoring with 1,274 points. Bell, meanwhile, was top-four in the MW in both assists (4.0 apg) and steals (1.9 spg).
The UNLV women’s basketball team received its highest preseason conference ranking in nine years, as the Lady Rebels were picked to finish third in the 2012-13 Mountain West preseason poll.
LAST TIME OUT
After a tie game midway through the first half, ODU went on a 28-6 run stretching into the second half to pull away from North Carolina Central on Dec. 7 in front of a season-best 5,287 fans at the Ted Constant Convocation Center for a 59-33 victory.
Several key reserves sparked the Lady Monarchs’ run then as Becca Allison scored a season-high 10 points in 19 minutes off the bench while LaQuanda Younger registered a career-high eight points in 19 minutes of play.
ODU’s bench outscored North Carolina Central by a margin of 26-0 as the Lady Monarchs scored 26 points off 27 Lady Eagle turnovers in the game. Old Dominion also took advantage in transition as they held an 18-2 advantage in fast break points.
Karen Barefoot
ODU head coach Karen Barefoot enters her 14th year as a head coach in 2012-13 and 200 plus wins in her career as she leads the Lady Monarch program in year two. As head coach at the Apprentice School in 2001, she led the Builders to a National Championship in the school's first ever women's sport while taking Lenoir-Rhyne the NCAA Tournament in the 2002-03 season. In 2010-11 while at Elon, she led the Phoenix to the WBI, the schools first ever women's basketball tournament appearance. The last time that ODU made the NCAA Tournament was in 2008 when Barefoot was an assistant coach for the Lady Monarchs and helped them make the Sweet 16.
HOLIDAY SPIRIT
The team paid a visit just before Thanksgiving to the Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughter (CHKD) to spend time with patients. In addition, the Lady Monarchs are also participating in the Operation Christmas Child project this year.
Redshirt senior Mairi Buchan is the Vice President of SAAC at ODU and spearheaded the campaign for the upcoming holiday period that all student-athletes could help people less privileged by filling a minimum of two boxes that included anything from toys to bath soap (items that children in underprivileged areas or war-torn countries may not have easy access to). The goal is to give the children something to smile about in what may be a difficult time for them.
KAREN BAREFOOT SHOW
The Karen Barefoot Coach's Shows continue to pack the house at YNot Pizza in the Village behind the Ted. Joined by host Doug Ripley, Barefoot reviews the previous week's game and gives insight into the upcoming Lady Monarch matchups all season long. The next show is scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 8th at 6 p.m.
LADY MONARCHS INK TWO
Coach Barefoot announced the addition of Odegua Oigbokie and Destinee Young who signed letters of intent to play for the Lady Monarchs next fall on Nov. 14.
Oigbokie is a highly touted forward from Ridgeway High School in Memphis, Tenn., while Young is a power forward out of Hoffman Estates High School in Hoffmann Estates, Ill.
Oigbokie, who is 6-foot-1, averaged 18 points and eight rebounds as a junior and has been named all-district and all-region for Ridgeway the past two seasons. Young, who is also 6-foot-1, averaged 15.4 points and 11 rebounds as a junior at Hoffman Estates High School, where she already is the record holder for career rebounds and single-season blocks.
Out of the five recruits that second-year head coach Karen Barefoot has landed at ODU, four have been rated as three stars or better by ESPN. The other three were local freshmen guards Galaisha Goodhope out of Norfolk and LaQuanda Younger of Newport News and forward Chelisa Painter from Chesapeake who is sitting out this season after transferring from George Washington.
NEWCOMERS
Head Coach Karen Barefoot added three freshmen this season in local talented guards Galaisha Goodhope and LaQuanda Younger along with center Brittany Martin out of the New York. Transferring in are forward Shae Kelley and Miami (FL) transfer guard Stephanie Gardner. The incoming class is ranked the best in the CAA and No. 42 in the country overall.
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