Thursday night provided a glimpse into what the women’s basketball team can do when faced with adversity. The Lady Monarchs came into the evening at 16-9 (8-4 Sun Belt, with a five-way tie for second place). Their opponents, the Georgia Southern Eagles, arrived at 15-6, (7-5 Sun Belt). At the close of the evening, the Lady Monarchs sent the Eagles home with a decisive win of 67-50. 

This win was anchored on the defensive end. The Lady Monarchs were able to keep Georgia Southern to a season-low in points at only 50. Their average is 83.9 points per game. The Lady Monarchs also kept the Eagles’ guard Terren Ward to an abysmal 1-12 from the field and only six points, knocking her off the top of the PPG leaderboard and into a tie with James Madison’s guard Kiki Jefferson.

Overall, the Eagles did not put on an astounding offensive performance, as they shot 28.8% from the field.

“I think a lot of that was because of our defense,” ODU head coach DeLisha Milton-Jones said.

“We have a lot of respect for her,” Milton-Jones added when asked about Eagles’ guard Ward. “We know we can’t stop her from shooting, but we tried to dictate when and where she got to shoot.

“She’s so deadly. We had to make sure that one person wasn’t responsible for stopping her. It had to be a communal effort.”

The Lady Monarchs helped anchor the defense throughout the evening, gaining five steals and a Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year nod from their head coach. 

The Monarchs started slow on the offensive end. They fell behind in the first quarter 10-6 and were not shooting great. However, the Lady Monarchs clawed their way back, bringing the score to 14-10 thanks to graduate student forward Jatyjia Jones, who scored five straight to end the first ten minutes. 

The second quarter continued the ODU momentum as the Lady Monarchs continued to find the bottom of the hoop, but never quite getting too far out of Georgia Southern’s reach. The Lady Monarchs went on a 10-0 run to end the half, giving them an eight-point advantage at 29-21 headed heading into the locker room.

The second half was a different story. Milton-Jones’ squad came out ready to play. Good ball movement between graduate student guard Mia Dickens and junior center Jada Duckett led to a picturesque layup for Duckett, bringing the score to 35-29 with 6:28 remaining in the third quarter. 

Following this, it became the Brianna Jackson show. The senior forward came off the bench and made her presence known as she made a layup, drew a charge, made a three to make the score 40-29, and blocked a shot, forcing a Georgia Southern player to foul out of sheer frustration and a subsequent Eagles timeout. Jackson was given a standing ovation from the crowd of 2,161 and mobbed by her teammates. 

The Lady Monarchs never looked back. They went on a 12-0 run and brought the lead to 21; a deficit too great for the Eagles to overcome.

The Lady Monarchs shared the wealth as Dickens contributed 14 points off the bench followed by guards Jordan McLaughlin and Jones, who both had 11 points. 

Jackson’s performance included nine points, four rebounds, two assists, a steal, and a blocked shot. 

Jackson said that just before she took the floor, head coach Milton-Jones “looked at me and said, ‘I need the dog to come off the porch. I need some fire, Bri.” 

“I told her, ‘I’ve got you, I’ve got you.'”

And she did.