Lady Eagles beat Old Dominion, advance to semifinals

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Lady Eagles played their first game of the Conference USA Tournament Thursday night against Old Dominion in the quarterfinals, and won 80-74.

The Lady Eagles were led by guard, Brittanny Dinkins and forward, Lashyra Cotton.

Dinkins dropped 25 points and got five steals in the game.

Cotton scored 21 points. But, her presence on defense was impressive as well, as she collected seven rebounds, three blocks, and three steals.

Head coach, Joye Lee-McNelis said, "God, this team gutted it out. We did as many things wrong as you can do until the game was on the line, and we showed true resilience, and made key plays defensively that allowed us to win. We were just fortunate to win. I mean either team could've won that ball game. Some of the fans were asking me, 'how did we win?' I don't know other than blood and guts."

The Lady Eagles will play Middle Tennessee Friday at 7 p.m.