NORFOLK — The Old Dominion women’s basketball team will have to perform better over its next two games if the Monarchs strive to be mentioned in the same breath with the Sun Belt Conference’s upper echelon.

En’Dya Buford poured in a game-high 18 points to pace the hosts in a gritty 65-54 win over Appalachian State on Wednesday night at Chartway Arena.

Buford “prides herself on playing the game the right way,” Monarchs coach DeLisha Milton-Jones said. “I trust her to go out there, play her game and make things happen. She stabilizes things for us in a major way.”

With the victory, the Monarchs (11-7, 3-3) rebounded from consecutive road losses — 77-70 to Marshall and then 77-60 to Georgia Southern, the top two teams in the conference standings.

“I haven’t been pleased with where we have been, especially in our losses,” Milton-Jones said. “Or even in some of our wins, because we had to go into a double-overtime game (in the first matchup against Georgia Southern) and then we had to fight tooth and nail against Georgia State as well.

“So defensively, we’re not showcasing the true essence of everything this team has been designed to do and come with night in and night out.”

Emily Hege poured in seven points to stake App State (8-8, 1-5) to a 14-12 first-quarter lead. Six Monarchs scored in the opening period, during which they led 8-3 less than four minutes in following back-to-back treys by Buford.

Laila Walker and Buford combined for five points in the final 40 seconds of the second quarter to buoy the Monarchs to a 27-21 advantage at the break. It was mostly an equally contested opening half that saw a near four-minute span in the second quarter during which both teams went scoreless.

During the break, “we talked about the start of the third quarter, the fact that we weren’t crashing the offensive glass, and how we could really ramp things up even more,” Milton-Jones said.

“The start of the third was pivotal for our success in the second half. Sometimes we come out and it’s a lull, so we had an open discussion about recognizing that we kind of fall asleep a little bit in the beginning. Everyone made the decision to come out, warm up properly, be focused on the things that matter most, and we had a better start.”

Simaru Fields drained a 3-pointer with 1:23 remaining in the third to give the Monarchs their first double-digit lead, 44-34, while a trio of free throws by Nakiyah Allen and Alisha Nunley stretched the advantage to 47-34 heading into the fourth.

Coming out ready to start the third quarter “really propelled us to get a lead and keep a lead, rather than having a lead and then losing it in the first two to three minutes. Then you have to fight your way back into the game in order to close it out with a close victory,” Milton-Jones said.

“We don’t want those anymore. We’ve shown people that we can win close games. We want to show people that we can win healthily.”

The Monarchs finished shooting 35.2% from the field, including just 6 of 23 from beyond the arc. They were outrebounded 46-35, but claimed 13 steals and forced 19 turnovers.

Buford finished with 18 points, followed by Simone Cunningham with 11. Ten other teammates tallied points for the Monarchs, who also lost to fourth-place Troy in their Sun Belt opener.

“Defense always wins games for us, so we know if we want to win, it wasn’t about just offense,” Buford said. “We just put ourselves on the line for each other — whether it’s jump balls or getting on the floor.”

The Monarchs next host Marshall Saturday at 2 p.m., then travel to third-place-sharing Arkansas State on Wednesday.

“It’s always been a battle,” Milton-Jones said of her team’s loss to Marshall on Jan. 7. “Some way, somehow, they have become a rival and they play hard when they match up against us. I felt like we didn’t execute emotionally — we executed offensively and defensively, but late in the game we had moments where we got a little off balance and made mistakes.

“So coming back here to play them, I’m excited and looking forward to a different result.”

https://www.pilotonline.com/2026/01/14/odu-women-gut-out-victory-vs-appalachian-state/