Old Dominion Monarchs women's basketball

The Old Dominion Monarchs women's basketball team represents Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. The team currently competes in the NCAA Division I as a member of the Sun Belt Conference.
The ODU Monarchs women's basketball team contributed to the initial rise in popularity of women's intercollegiate basketball in the United States in the 1970s. Women's college basketball was organized under the auspices of the AIAW in the early 1970s, at a time when competitive power was distributed among small colleges that had established a niche.
ODU won two AIAW national championships in 1979 and 1980 in dominating fashion with star players, Nancy Lieberman and Anne Donovan. Led by Medina Dixon and Tracy Claxton, ODU won the NCAA Division I championship in their 1984–85 season, defeating the University of Georgia 70–65.
Old Dominion, along with UCLA and Tennessee, led the rise to prominence of large schools with national reputations to the top intercollegiate level, before the NCAA began sponsoring sports for women.

Rivalries

Games played	First meeting	Last meeting	ODU wins	ODU losses	Win %
77	1969–70	February 28, 2013	52	25

Games played	First meeting	Last meeting	ODU wins	ODU losses	Win %
79	1969–70	November 21, 2021	60	19

Games played	First meeting	Last meeting	ODU wins	ODU losses	Win %
35	1973–74	November 24, 2019	19	16

Games played	First meeting	Last meeting	ODU wins	ODU losses	Win %
33	1972–73	November 25, 2014	25	8

Games played	First meeting	Last meeting	ODU wins	ODU losses	Win %
68	1969–70	December 5, 2021	61	7

The Lady Monarchs made three appearances in the AIAW women's basketball tournament, with a combined record of 11–1.

1979	First round Quarterfinals Semifinals National Championship	Kansas State Maryland UCLA Louisiana Tech	W, 96–75 W, 69–51 W, 87–82 W, 75–65
1980	First round Quarterfinals Semifinals National Championship	BYU Rutgers Louisiana Tech Tennessee	W, 88–66 W, 84–62 W, 73–59 W, 68–53
1981	Second round Quarterfinals Semifinals Third-place game	Stephen F. Austin Long Beach State Tennessee USC	W, 60–54 W, 76–60 L, 65–68 W, 68–65

Old Dominion play their home games at Chartway Arena. In the past, the team played at the Old Dominion University Fieldhouse from 1970 to 2002.