By Joanna Venditto
Old Dominion (20-1): ODU won its 13th consecutive Colonial Athletic Association Championship on Saturday, defeating George Mason, 85-81. Big scorers for ODU included junior guard Shareese Grant, who scored a game-high 23 points, and senior Myriah Spence (17 points). Grant also earned Most Outstanding Performer of the game for the second straight year. As a team, Old Dominion shot 48 percent. The Monarchs move on to the first round of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship, where they are seeded eighth in the Mideast Region and face the ninth-seeded Marquette on March 21 in Durham, N.C.
George Mason (13-8): GMU was five points shy of taking the title of CAA Champion when it fell to ODU, 85-81. Senior guard Jen Derevjanik put up a team-high 19 points for GMU, scoring ten of them on a 14-6 Patriot run in the final four minutes of the game. With 54 seconds left, the gap was closed to three points, however, GMU missed key shot opportunities and were unable to seal the deal.
Delaware (11-9): The University of Delaware defeated UNC-Wilmington in the CAA Quarterfinals, but fell to Old Dominion 73-62 in the semis last Friday. Junior forward Tiara Malcom scored a team-high 19 points and sophomore guard Amanda Blackstone scored a career-high 17 points for Delaware. However, Delaware fell short, as ODU’s offensive game overpowered their own. ODU went on to win the CAA Championship.
VCU (11-9): Virginia Commonwealth University managed to upset the Pride in the CAA Quarterfinals, however, could not do the same on Friday when it fell to George Mason, 73-59. Senior guard Cyndy Wilks, who was named CAA Player of the Year, scored 22 points for the Rams, junior forward Lauren Hogan scored 13 points, and junior Center Kristina Cesnaviciute contributed 10 points to the effort. Wilks ends her career with the best single-season scoring average (22.1) in CAA history.
UNC-Wilmington (10-9): UNC-Wilmington lost in the quarterfinals to Delaware on March 11, 65-59. Despite the loss, the Seahawks’ play was solid. Senior Cherie Lea led UNCW with 19 points and pulled down a team-high nine rebounds, junior Lindsay Isom contributed 14 points, and senior Tracy Morgan knocked down 11 points, however, as a team, UNC shot 1-for-11 from three-point range. Despite its loss, UNC-Wilmington has completed its third straight winning season under coach Ann Hancock.
James Madison (8-12): After squeaking by Towson with a 63-61 victory in the opening round of the CAA playoffs, JMU fell to George Mason in the March 11 quarterfinals, 84-67. Freshman forward Meredith Alexis knocked down 14 points and grabbed 19 rebounds, breaking JMU’s all-time season rebound record of 316, and giving her a total of 322 rebounds for the season. Freshman forward Lesley Dickinson did some record breaking of her own, upping JMU’s freshman scoring record to 476 points after scoring 11 in the loss to George Mason. Both players also earned All-CAA honors.
Drexel (7-12): Drexel University lost to William & Mary, 80-70, on March 10. The season ended with five straight losses for the Dragons, although junior forward Katrina Martin scored a career-high 25 points and went 6-for-9 from the field, senior forward Ola Snytsina hit four three-pointers, bringing her school-record total to 79, and sophomore guard Catherine Scanlon put up 13 points in Drexel’s effort.
William & Mary (7-13): Despite an 80-70 first round victory over Drexel, W & M could not continue its winning ways against Old Dominion in the March 11 Quarterfinals. The Tribe went down 82-56, however, it held ODU to a 34-31 score at half time. Freshman guard Kyra Kaylor was the Tribe’s high-scorer with 21 points and an 8-8 shot record from the foul line, and freshman guard Kyle DeHaven contributed 11 points and eight assists for The College of William & Mary. Towson (1-18): Unable to end its season long losing streak, Towson University went down to James Madison in the first round of the CAA playoffs, by a score of 63-61. With just six seconds left, senior guard Jody LaRose drained a three-pointer for JMU, ending Towson’s one point lead. Sophomore guard Kacy O’Brien had a team-high 15 points for the Tigers, and finished seventh overall in CAA scoring. Junior guard Brandi Harris also did her share of scoring for Towson, knocking down 13 points in the loss to JMU.