1984–85 Old Dominion Lady Monarchs basketball team

The 1984–85 Old Dominion Lady Monarchs basketball team represented Old Dominion University during the 1984–85 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Monarchs, led by eighth-year head coach Marianne Stanley, played their home games at the Old Dominion University Fieldhouse, and alternatively at the Norfolk Scope, in Norfolk, Virginia. They were members of the Sun Belt Conference.

1984–85 Old Dominion Lady Monarchs basketball
NCAA tournament National Champions
Sun Belt tournament champions
Sun Belt regular season champions
Wildcat Invitational Champion
Optimist Classic Champion
Holiday Tournament Champion
ConferenceSun Belt Conference
Ranking
APNo. 5
Record31–3 (6–0 Sun Belt)
Head coach
Home arenaODU Fieldhouse
Norfolk Scope (alternate)
Seasons
1984–85 Sun Belt Conference women's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
No. 5 Old Dominion60 1.000313 .912
No. 14 WKU51 .833286 .824
UAB42 .6671415 .483
South Alabama33 .5001910 .655
UNC Charlotte24 .3331312 .520
VCU15 .167819 .296
South Florida06 .000818 .308
1985 Sun Belt tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll

NCAA tournament

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After finishing the season 26–3 with an undefeated conference record following their conference tournament, the Lady Monarchs were awarded the first seed of the eastern regional bracket and regional home-field advantage for the 1985 NCAA women's basketball tournament. They won their first three playoff games at the ODU Fieldhouse and advanced to the Final Four.

Old Dominion faced Northeast Louisiana (now Louisiana–Monroe) in the national semifinals. The Monarchs won 57–47 and were helped from a 1–3–1 half-court trap that prevented NE Louisiana from scoring for five and a half minutes after taking an early lead in the first half.[1]

The Lady Monarchs were able to defeat the Georgia Lady Bulldogs 70–65, despite making only 38.2 percent of field goal attempts.[2] They brought home the first NCAA basketball championship for Old Dominion University.[3] Center Tracy Claxton was awarded most outstanding player in the championship game.

Roster

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1984–85 Old Dominion Lady Monarchs women's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightYearHometown
F3Dawn Cullen6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)JrNorfolk CatholicNorfolk, VA
G11Marie Christian
So
F13Medina Dixon
SrBoston, MA
C15Tracy Claxton
SrNew Haven, CT
G20Lisa Blais
Sr
G23Bridget Jenkins
So
F24Adrienne Goodson6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)FrBayonne, NJ
F25Donna Harrington
So
F32Alphelia Goodson
F33Liz Connahan
Fr
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
  • Wendy Larry - asst. coach
  • Barbara Thaxton - asst. coach
  • Beth Calder - manager
  • Lisa Hendrick - manager
  • Trish Vantucci - manager

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: December 16, 2023

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank#Opponent#ResultRecordSite (attendance)
city, state
Regular season
November 24, 1984*
No. 3 No. 2 TexasW 90–80 1–0
ODU Fieldhouse (3,186)
Norfolk, VA
November 28, 1984
No. 2 VCU
Rivalry
W 76–41 2–0
(1–0)
Norfolk Scope (3,480)
Norfolk, VA
November 30, 1984*
No. 2 vs. Pittsburgh
Wildcat Invitational
W 98–64 3–0
Welsh–Ryan Arena (75)
Evanston, IL
December 1, 1984*
No. 2 vs. Northwestern
Wildcat Invitational
W 87–85 4–0
Welsh–Ryan Arena (206)
Evanston, IL
December 4, 1984*
No. 1 No. 10 VirginiaW 80–58 5–0
ODU Fieldhouse (2,317)
Norfolk, VA
December 7, 1984*
No. 1 at East CarolinaW 92–74 6–0
Minges Coliseum (350)
Greenville, NC
December 15, 1984*
No. 1 James Madison
Rivalry
W 79–43 7–0
Norfolk Scope (4,982)
Norfolk, VA
December 21, 1984*
No. 1 Providence
Optimist Classic
W 98–62 8–0
ODU Fieldhouse (715)
Norfolk, VA
December 22, 1984*
No. 1 Vanderbilt
Optimist Classic
W 96–72 9–0
ODU Fieldhouse (1,415)
Norfolk, VA
December 28, 1984*
No. 1 vs. North Carolina
Holiday Tournament
W 78–64 10–0
Reynolds Coliseum (650)
Raleigh, NC
December 29, 1984*
No. 1 vs. No. 13 Kentucky
Holiday Tournament
W 66–59 11–0
Reynolds Coliseum (400)
Raleigh, NC
January 4, 1985*
No. 1 UCLAW 74–58 12–0
ODU Fieldhouse (3,011)
Norfolk, VA
January 7, 1985*
No. 1 No. 2 Long Beach StateW 84–71 13–0
ODU Fieldhouse (3,581)
Norfolk, VA
January 11, 1985*
No. 1 No. 6 USCW 52–48 14–0
ODU Fieldhouse (4,628)
Norfolk, VA
January 13, 1985*
No. 1 at No. 12 KentuckyW 64–63 15–0
Memorial Coliseum (5,200)
Lexington, KY
January 16, 1985*
No. 1 South CarolinaW 79–72 16–0
ODU Fieldhouse (2,001)
Norfolk, VA
January 25, 1985*
No. 1 Tennessee
Donna Doyle Scholarship Game
L 64–67 16–1
ODU Fieldhouse (4,336)
Norfolk, VA
January 28, 1985
No. 2 No. 11 Western KentuckyW 76–57 17–1
(2–0)
ODU Fieldhouse (1,671)
Norfolk, VA
January 30, 1985*
No. 2 at Virginia TechW 86–76 18–1
Cassell Coliseum (306)
Blacksburg, VA
February 1, 1985*
No. 2 NC StateL 64–67 18–2
ODU Fieldhouse (3,912)
Norfolk, VA
February 5, 1985
No. 3 South FloridaW 72–45 19–2
(3–0)
ODU Fieldhouse (1,312)
Norfolk, VA
February 9, 1985*
No. 3 at MarylandW 73–60 20–2
Cole Field House (850)
College Park, MD
February 13, 1985*
No. 3 at No. 6 Louisiana TechL 63–72 20–3
Thomas Assembly Center (5,970)
Ruston, LA
February 15, 1985*
No. 3 Boston UniversityW 84–55 21–3
ODU Fieldhouse (2,200)
Norfolk, VA
February 21, 1985
No. 7 at South AlabamaW 64–56 22–3
(4–0)
Jaguar Gym (303)
Mobile, AL
February 23, 1985
No. 7 at UABW 77–58 23–3
(5–0)
BJCC Coliseum (350)
Birmingham, AL
February 28, 1985
No. 7 at UNC CharlotteW 85–57 24–3
(6–0)
Belk Gymnasium (950)
Charlotte, NC
Sun Belt tournament
March 8, 1985
(1) No. 5 (3) UAB
Semifinals
W 95–57 25–3
ODU Fieldhouse (1,395)
Norfolk, VA
March 9, 1985
(1) No. 5 (2) No. 14 Western Kentucky
Championship
W 76–63 26–3
ODU Fieldhouse (1,697)
Norfolk, VA
NCAA tournament
March 16, 1985*
(1E) No. 5 (8E) Syracuse
First round
W 88–63 27–3
ODU Fieldhouse (1,609)
Norfolk, VA
March 21, 1985*
(1E) No. 5 (4E) No. 12 NC State
Regional semifinals
W 77–67 28–3
ODU Fieldhouse (2,812)
Norfolk, VA
March 23, 1985*
(1E) No. 5 (2E) No. 7 Ohio State
Regional finals
W 72–68 29–3
ODU Fieldhouse (3,086)
Norfolk, VA
March 29, 1985*
(1E) No. 5 vs. (2MW) No. 2 NE Louisiana
National semifinals
W 57–47 30–3
Frank Erwin Center (7,648)
Austin, TX
March 31, 1985*
(1E) No. 5 vs. (2W) No. 8 Georgia
National championship
W 70–65 31–3
Frank Erwin Center (7,597)
Austin, TX
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern.
E = East, MW = Midwest, W = West
  • Source: Old Dominion Athletics,[4] NCAA Statistics[5]

Rankings

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Regular season Poll
PollPre-
Season
Week
2
Week
3
Week
4
Week
5
Week
6
Week
7
Week
8
Week
9
Week
10
Week
11
Week
12
Week
13
Week
14
Week
15
Week
16
Final
AP32111111112337755
Legend
 Increase in ranking
 Decrease in ranking
 Not ranked previous week
(RV) Received Votes


  • Source: Division I Women's Basketball Records[6]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "NCAA Women's Basketball : Georgia, Old Dominion Gain Final". Los Angeles Times. March 30, 1985. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
  2. ^ Litsky, Frank (April 1, 1985). "Old Dominion Tops Georgia for Title". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
  3. ^ "Old Dominion Muscles Its Way Past Georgia to Title". Los Angeles Times. April 1, 1985. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
  4. ^ "1984-85 Women's Basketball Schedule". Old Dominion University. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
  5. ^ "1984-85 Old Dominion Women's Basketball stats" (PDF). NCAA Career Statistics.
  6. ^ "Division I Women's Basketball Records" (PDF). NCAA. pp. 61, 96. Retrieved December 16, 2023.