Old Dominion's 3 Point Shooting Too Much for the Tigers

The Tigers fell to the Old Dominion Monarchs 89-77.

The Tigers had their hands full in the first half against the Monarchs. The back court pairing of Victoria Morris and Ajaha Wayne proved problematic for the Tigers, as the pair combined for 30 points in the first half. 

The Monarchs also took advantage of the Tigers zone defense and hit 8 three-pointers in the first half. Despite that, the Tigers only found themselves down 41-39 at the end of the first half. 

The Tigers seemed to struggle to get their normal offense going in the first half. Alexander had defenders in her face not allowing her to get any clean looks. Alexander was only able to make on field goal in the first half. The Monarchs made it hard for Thompson to get the ball in the post, but when she did she capitalized. Thompson hit her first four shots of the game and scored 10 points in the first half. 

The Tigers two freshmen guards, Annie Hughes and Brooke Moore, played great in the first half, combining for 20 points in the first half. Hughes and Moore were also the only Tigers able to connect behind the arc, combining for three three-pointers.

The second half started out rough for the Tigers as they found themselves down ten in the third quarter. An 8-0 run by the Tigers and a couple of big three-pointers Erin Howard would narrow the deficit down to 60-58 at the end of the third quarter. 

The fourth quarter was owned by Ajaha Wayne. Wayne was lights out from behind the arc, hitting all three of her attempts. Wayne had 13 points in the quarter and was making plays all over the court.

The Tigers got exposed on both sides of the ball in the fourth quarter. Their zone defense allowed the Monarchs too many open shots, as they went 9-10 from the field. Auburn's full court press could not slow down the ball enough either and had the Tigers scrambling to keep up. 

While the game may have been close through three quarters, the Monarchs had the Tigers figured out by the fourth quarter.

The Tigers have some big problems that need to be addressed. Thompson, while efficient, only had six shots the entire game. Shutting down Thompson seemed to shut down the Tigers offense. Hughes and Moore only combined for seven points in the second half, and Alexander shot 4-10 in the second half. 

The Tigers struggled to be effective in their full press defense. "We can't win games giving up 89 points," said Coach Flo. 

"We need better communication from our back line," said Thompson.

The Tigers need to be better on defense and get back to basics on offense. Thompson and Alexander need to get into a rhythm on offense and Thompson needs to get more touches. Hopefully Coach Flo can get the team focused for their next outing on the court.