Originally published December 13, 2021.

Coming off of a five game road stretch, the Monarchs returned home to take on Bowie State at the Chartway Arena. This matchup between the two teams is their first. The Monarchs entered the game 6-2 on a four game win streak looking to increase it to five. Bowie State, a member of the Division II CIAA, entered the game 2-3 and have won zero away games thus far. They come off a 58-53 loss against the University of the District of Columbia.

After winning the tip, the Monarchs were hot in the first quarter scoring 15 straight points holding Bowie State to zero points. Bowie finally scored their first two at the 49 second mark of the first quarter. They shot an atrocious 1-8 (12.5%) from the field goal and zero percent from behind the arc. The only player to score for them was Chyna Butler. Finishing the quarter up 17-2, ODU scored a wonderful 11 points off ten turnovers. Amari Young led all scorers among both teams with six points.

The second quarter was just as great for the Monarchs and just as bad for the Bulldogs. However, when the Monarchs scored, the Bulldogs were answering back. Both teams’ best scoring run was only six points. ODU finished with 16 points, all of which were scored by the bench. Ashanti Barnes-Williams and Taleah Washington cashed in six apiece. Bowie earned a total of 10 points. With the contributions only coming from three players. The first half ended with ODU up by a large margin of 21 points. ODU lead the Bulldogs 33-12.

ODU opened the third quarter strong with another boost of momentum as they had a 15-0 run holding Bowie State to just four points compared to their 21. Ajah Wayne led all scorers with 11 rebounds shooting 75 percent from the field. On top of that she shot a marvelous 3-3 (100%) from behind the arc and 2-2 (100%) at the free throw line. ODU got the majority of their points from Bowie State’s ten turnovers.

In the final period Coach Milton-Jones only played her bench. They contributed miraculously to the game as they scored 40 bench points and outscored Bowie State’s bench by 17 (40-23). They helped lead ODU to a 70-29 victory over Bowie State.

Of her bench, Coach Milton-Jones sees them as her second starters. They are players that are very talented and can start on any given day. Milton-Jones said “Them coming out and outsourcing Bowie State, I’m proud of that and I feel they could have done even more.” She felt that her bench could have capitalized more off of Bowie’s 30 turnovers. As well as scored more from their defensive efforts. Moreover, she was pleased with the bench’s performance stating “It definitely is pleasing to know that they can come in and give that level of production.”

Though the game was a complete blowout and annihilation, Milton-Jones gave the teams’ offensive grade a C plus and the defensive grade a C minus. This is of no surprise as Coach is a tough grader and the Monarchs are always hungry for more, striving to do better. “I’m not pleased with our performance. Yes we won by almost 40 points obviously but for me we’re in pursuit of excellence,” she said. On top of that she noted that she is here to push gamut as she and the Monarchs are marching for march because she wants them back in the NCAA Tournament conversation. Milton-Jones stated “The only way to do that is to go through each opponent, make it deep into the tournament, and crown ourselves a champion.”

This is the Monarch’s fifth straight win and they currently hold the number two spot in the Conference-USA. They sit behind 7-1 Middle Tennessee. Their next game is this upcoming Sunday at 2:00 P.M. against Norfolk State at the Chartway arena. Coach Milton-Jones encourages the student body and local community to show up to this game, and those to come, as women’s basketball is just as great as men’s.

“I want to keep stressing the point for the community to come out, be the sixth man for us. The same way this arena is packed for the men, I want it to be packed for the women. So come on out. The 5-0 run that we’re on right now in terms of our win streak, that’s something to be celebrated. I want everybody to enjoy this journey that we’re on,” she said.