THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, January 27, 1997 TAG: 9701270131
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C8 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY VICKI L. FRIEDMAN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 67 lines
If you missed Friday night's women's basketball game at American University, the rerun took place Sunday afternoon at the Old Dominion field house.
Second-ranked ODU ripped through George Mason 107-62 in a game similar to its 104-49 rout of the Eagles on Friday night. The Lady Monarchs, who scored 60 second-half points in that contest, picked right up where they left off, tallying 60 first-half points against the Patriots.
``Unbelievably similar (games),'' said ODU coach Wendy Larry. ``And it's all about playing good position defense. Nyree (Roberts) and then Clarisse (Machanguana) both, even in the second half, I thought did an exceptional job in the glass. And then we can run.''
And the Lady Monarchs, with just Friday's game against VCU left before they repeat the Colonial Athletic Association rotation, are running through the CAA again.
Against American, ODU (17-1, 7-0) scored the first 16 points; vs. Mason the Lady Monarchs led 18-0. The difference was that George Mason (12-5, 5-2) is regarded as the second-best team in the CAA and received seven votes in the USA Today/CNN Top 25 poll earlier this month.
``We're looking at the big picture, and that's getting into the postseason,'' Patriots coach Jim Lewis said. ``Right now I would say that we're the team besides Old Dominion that has the best chance.''
But the 18-point hole the Patriots dug against the Lady Monarchs gave them no chance Sunday. ODU shot 65 percent from the field in the opening half and was up by 33 points 13 minutes into the contest. The game never resembled a challenge at any point, with ODU leading 60-32 at the break, allowing Larry to flow her subs in and out for most of the second half.
Mery Andrade's 22 points, highlighted by a 12-of-13 effort from the free-throw line, led the way along with her 11 rebounds. Machanguana had 18 points, and Roberts 15 and Ticha Penicheiro and freshman Nicole Bellinghausen scored 13 apiece.
Penicheiro, 6 of 8 from the field, had 10 assists, five rebounds and four steals, completely overmatching Patriots point guard Kristeena Alexander.
Alexander, who finished with 14 points, five rebounds, two steals and seven turnovers, has been touted as the CAA's finest freshman.
``I know Ticha has had many more offensive games that have probably been more accentuated,'' Larry said, ``but I thought she played outstanding. Her selection of shots, her boards, her decisions were really outstanding.''
The 13 points and 13 minutes of playing time were career bests for Bellinghausen, who has averaged 5.3 minutes and 1.0 points in 10 games. The forward from Las Vegas also was the one to put ODU over the century mark with her first collegiate 3-pointer, from the top of the key with 2:16 to go.
``I looked at the clock when I did that, and I said, `We're going to get 100 points because of my 3,' '' Bellinghausen said.
The Lady Monarchs looked to be on a record scoring-setting pace, scoring their 90th point with more than eight minutes on the clock, but Larry slowed the tempo.
Nevertheless, Lewis, touting the strength of the CAA, said he felt good about the effort, despite 23 turnovers and 36-percent shooting. Krista Jay led George Mason with 17 points.
``There was a CAA game today with two national-level teams,'' he said. ``One of them was the best in the country; the other one will probably be one of 64.'' ILLUSTRATION: BETH BERGMAN
The Virginian-Pilot
George Mason's Krista Jay, left, and ODU's LaToya Small fight for
possession. Jay finished with 17 points.