By Chris Lang

Published: March 23, 2008

NORFOLK — Teams often embody their leaders, and it was clear from the start that Old Dominion would follow the lead set by its pint-sized point guard, 5-foot-4 Jazzmin Walters.
As Liberty’s Allyson Fasnacht tried to drive down the left sideline early in Sunday’s first-round NCAA tournament game at the Constant Convocation Center, Walters invaded her personal space, using her hips to force Fasnacht off track and slapping the basketball out of bounds. Fasnacht tried to drive again, with the same result. Walters didn’t force a turnover either time, but the continual pressure eventually wore on Liberty’s guards.
The Flames turned it over 17 times, leading to 25 Old Dominion points. The Monarchs scored 17 points on the fast break, and with their transition game humming, not even Liberty’s stout defense could do anything to stop them.
Playing on its opponent’s home floor for the eighth time in 11 NCAA appearances, Liberty struggled to keep up with ODU’s speed. The Monarchs used a 15-0 burst midway through the first half to take control, and ODU pulled away after halftime for an 82-62 victory.
“Their running game is a major part of their success,” Liberty coach Carey Green said. “We didn’t take care of the ball, giving them the run of the floor and giving them the advantage with numbers.”
The fifth-seeded Monarchs (30-4), who had lost their last five NCAA first-round games, advanced to Tuesday’s second round, where it will meet the winner of the Virginia-UC Santa Barbara game. Liberty, the No. 12 seed in the Greensboro bracket, ended its season at 28-4 and lost its second straight first-round game.
Liberty led 19-14 with 12:04 left in the first half after Molly Frazee scored on a pass from Rachel McLeod. After a media timeout, Old Dominion began its surge, with Walters drilling a 3 from the right wing to pull ODU within 19-17. ODU quickly gained control from there and outscored Liberty 30-11 to close the first half.
The Monarchs were hot from long range during the run, hitting 4 of 5 from 3-point range.
“They just came out playing zone,” Walters said. “The more shots we knocked down, the more it opened up the middle.”
Old Dominion used its defense to jump-start its offense, turning 11 first-half Liberty turnovers into 20 points.
“I think at times, they definitely were trying to get into our guards’ heads and put a lot of pressure on the ball,” said Liberty forward Molly Frazee, who scored 10 points. “It made it a little bit more difficult to get into our offense. Once they got into it, they were putting pressure on us (the post players) as well.”
Liberty twice pulled within 12 in the second half, the second time on Egle Smigelskaite’s three-point play with 16:00 left. But ODU mounted another surge, pushing the lead to 19 by the 11:46 mark.
Megan Frazee scored 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead Liberty, but she was hounded all night by the pressure of 6-foot-4 forward Megan Pym, who had a career-high seven blocks and pulled down 10 rebounds. McLeod, a freshman, scored a career-high 11 points for Liberty.
Shahida Williams led ODU with 20 points on 10 of 11 shooting, and Jessica Canady came off the bench to score 14 on 4 of 5 shooting. The Monarchs had 25 assists on 31 made baskets and shot 47.7 percent against a team that ranked second nationally in field-goal percentage defense (33.6).
“It’s great when there is a lot of good chemistry going on,” ODU coach Wendy Larry said. “This was a time that our basketball team really had to play together. We really are at our best when we can get out on the open floor and run and share the ball.”