# 1996–97 Old Dominion Lady Monarchs basketball team

The 1996–97 Old Dominion Lady Monarchs basketball team represented Old Dominion University during the 1996–97 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Monarchs, led by tenth-year head coach Wendy Larry, played their home games at the Old Dominion University Fieldhouse, and alternatively at the Norfolk Scope, in Norfolk, Virginia. They were members of the Colonial Athletic Association.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 15, 1996* | No. 7 | George Washington Preseason WNIT | W 70–44 | 1–0 | ODU Fieldhouse Norfolk, VA |
| Nov 17, 1996* | No. 7 | No. 13 NC State Preseason WNIT | L 62–65 | 1–1 | ODU Fieldhouse Norfolk, VA |
| Nov 23, 1996* | No. 9 | Indiana State Dial Classic | W 116–26 | 2–1 | ODU Fieldhouse Norfolk, VA |
| Nov 24, 1996* | No. 9 | Wake Forest Dial Classic | W 82–41 | 3–1 | ODU Fieldhouse Norfolk, VA |
| Dec 1, 1996* | No. 8 | at Miami (FL) | W 94–55 | 4–1 | Miami Arena Miami, FL |
| Dec 7, 1996* | No. 6 | vs. No. 15 Duke Central Fidelity Classic | W 89–77 | 5–1 | Richmond Coliseum Richmond, VA |
| Dec 8, 1996* | No. 6 | vs. No. 13 Vanderbilt Central Fidelity Classic | W 70–59 | 6–1 | Richmond Coliseum Richmond, VA |
| Dec 14, 1996* | No. 6 | at Purdue | W 55–51 | 7–1 | West Lafayette, IN Mackey Arena |
| Dec 17, 1996* | No. 4 | No. 1 Stanford | W 83–66 | 8–1 | ODU Fieldhouse Norfolk, VA |
| Dec 21, 1996* | No. 4 | at Rutgers | W 86-59 | 9–1 | Piscataway, NJ |
| Jan 3, 1997 | No. 2 | Richmond | W 89-53 | 10–1 | ODU Fieldhouse Norfolk, VA |
| Jan 5, 1997 | No. 2 | at East Carolina | W 74-36 | 11–1 | Greenville, NC |
| Jan 7, 1997* | No. 2 | No. 9 Tennessee | W 83–72 | 12–1 | Norfolk Scope Norfolk, VA |
| Jan 12, 1997 | No. 2 | William & Mary | W 79-36 | 13–1 | ODU Fieldhouse Norfolk, VA |
| Jan 17, 1997 | No. 2 | at James Madison | W 78-53 | 14–1 | Harrisonburg, VA |
| Jan 21, 1997 | No. 2 | UNC-Wilmington | W 89-51 | 15–1 | ODU Fieldhouse Norfolk, VA |
| Jan 24, 1997 | No. 2 | at American | W 104-59 | 16–1 | Washington, DC |
| Jan 26, 1997 | No. 2 | George Mason | W 107-62 | 17–1 | ODU Fieldhouse Norfolk, VA |
| Jan 31, 1997 | No. 2 | VCU | W 93-35 | 18–1 | ODU Fieldhouse Norfolk, VA |
| Feb 2, 1997 | No. 2 | at Richmond | W 88-65 | 19–1 | Richmond, VA |
| Feb 7, 1997 | No. 2 | James Madison | W 77-49 | 20–1 | ODU Fieldhouse Norfolk, VA |
| Feb 9, 1997 | No. 2 | American | W 94-57 | 21–1 | ODU Fieldhouse Norfolk, VA |
| Feb 11, 1997 | No. 2 | at UNC-Wilmington | W 97-58 | 22–1 | Wilmington, NC |
| Feb 16, 1997 | No. 2 | at William & Mary | W 96-36 | 23–1 | Williamsburg, VA |
| Feb 18, 1997 | No. 2 | East Carolina | W 88-43 | 24–1 | ODU Fieldhouse Norfolk, VA |
| Feb 21, 1997 | No. 2 | at VCU | W 94-47 | 25–1 | Richmond, VA |
| Feb 23, 1997 | No. 2 | at George Mason | W 102–46 | 26–1 (16–0) | Patriot Center Fairfax, VA |
| CAA tournament ||||||
| Feb 27, 1997* | (1) No. 2 | vs. (9) William & Mary Quarterfinals | W 101–35 | 27–1 | Richmond Coliseum Richmond, VA |
| Feb 28, 1997* | (1) No. 2 | vs. (4) James Madison Semifinals | W 86–48 | 28–1 | Richmond Coliseum Richmond, VA |
| Mar 2, 1997* | (1) No. 2 | vs. (6) East Carolina Championship game | W 83–46 | 29–1 | Richmond Coliseum Richmond, VA |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 15, 1997* | (1 ME) No. 2 | vs. (16 ME) Liberty First round | W 102–52 | 30–1 | ODU Fieldhouse Norfolk, VA |
| Mar 17, 1997* | (1 ME) No. 2 | vs. (8 ME) Purdue Second round | W 69–65 $^{OT}$ | 31–1 | ODU Fieldhouse Norfolk, VA |
| Mar 22, 1997* | (1 ME) No. 2 | vs. (4 ME) No. 9 LSU Regional Semifinal – Sweet Sixteen | W 62–49 | 32–1 | Mackey Arena West Lafayette, IN |
| Mar 24, 1997* | (1 ME) No. 2 | vs. (3 ME) No. 7 Florida Regional Final – Elite Eight | W 53–51 | 33–1 | Mackey Arena West Lafayette, IN |
| Mar 28, 1997* | (1 ME) No. 2 | vs. (1 W) No. 3 Stanford National Semifinal – Final Four | W 83–82 | 34–1 | Riverfront Coliseum Cincinnati, OH |
| Mar 30, 1997* | (1 ME) No. 2 | vs. (3 MW) No. 10 Tennessee National Championship | L 59–68 | 34–2 | Riverfront Coliseum Cincinnati, OH |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. E = East, MW = Midwest ||||||
* Source: Old Dominion Athletics,

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Final |
| AP | 7 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | Not released |
| Coaches | 7 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 |