# 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.

## NCAA tournament

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

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| November 24, 1984* | No. 3 | No. 2 Texas | W 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 Virginia | W 80–58 | 5–0 | ODU Fieldhouse (2,317) Norfolk, VA |
| December 7, 1984* | No. 1 | at East Carolina | W 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 | UCLA | W 74–58 | 12–0 | ODU Fieldhouse (3,011) Norfolk, VA |
| January 7, 1985* | No. 1 | No. 2 Long Beach State | W 84–71 | 13–0 | ODU Fieldhouse (3,581) Norfolk, VA |
| January 11, 1985* | No. 1 | No. 6 USC | W 52–48 | 14–0 | ODU Fieldhouse (4,628) Norfolk, VA |
| January 13, 1985* | No. 1 | at No. 12 Kentucky | W 64–63 | 15–0 | Memorial Coliseum (5,200) Lexington, KY |
| January 16, 1985* | No. 1 | South Carolina | W 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 Kentucky | W 76–57 | 17–1 (2–0) | ODU Fieldhouse (1,671) Norfolk, VA |
| January 30, 1985* | No. 2 | at Virginia Tech | W 86–76 | 18–1 | Cassell Coliseum (306) Blacksburg, VA |
| February 1, 1985* | No. 2 | NC State | L 64–67 | 18–2 | ODU Fieldhouse (3,912) Norfolk, VA |
| February 5, 1985 | No. 3 | South Florida | W 72–45 | 19–2 (3–0) | ODU Fieldhouse (1,312) Norfolk, VA |
| February 9, 1985* | No. 3 | at Maryland | W 73–60 | 20–2 | Cole Field House (850) College Park, MD |
| February 13, 1985* | No. 3 | at No. 6 Louisiana Tech | L 63–72 | 20–3 | Thomas Assembly Center (5,970) Ruston, LA |
| February 15, 1985* | No. 3 | Boston University | W 84–55 | 21–3 | ODU Fieldhouse (2,200) Norfolk, VA |
| February 21, 1985 | No. 7 | at South Alabama | W 64–56 | 22–3 (4–0) | Jaguar Gym (303) Mobile, AL |
| February 23, 1985 | No. 7 | at UAB | W 77–58 | 23–3 (5–0) | BJCC Coliseum (350) Birmingham, AL |
| February 28, 1985 | No. 7 | at UNC Charlotte | W 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, NCAA Statistics

## Rankings

Legend :
| | Increase in ranking |
| | Decrease in ranking |
| | Not ranked previous week |
| (RV) | Received Votes |
* Source: Division I Women's Basketball Records