THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, November 5, 1994 TAG: 9411050923
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JULIE GOODRICH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 51 lines
The Old Dominion women's basketball team held its first intrasquad scrimmage on Oct. 31, and in true Halloween spirit, it was frightening.
``It was ugly,'' said Lady Monarchs head coach Wendy Larry. ``We mixed a lot of front-line and perimeter players to make (the scrimmage) more competitive. . . . Their timing was all off.''
Larry will look for improvement today when the Lady Monarchs hold their annual Blue-White game at 6 p.m. in the field house. The White team is made up of returning players, including first team All-CAA member Shonda DeBerry and All-Rookie team selection Esther Benjamin.
The Blue team features Old Dominion's new faces, including Salem graduate Kelly Bradley and two foreign players: Clarisse Machanguana of Mozambique and Ticia Penicheiro of Portugal.
With forward Sarah Willyerd the only player with a lock on a starting position, the rest of the Lady Monarchs are fighting for playing time.
``All you have to do is walk into practice and see all the bruises and bandages to know they're going to war,'' Larry said.
RECRUITING BUZZ: Old Dominion received its first oral commitment on Friday when Tidewater Academy's Nicole Freudig chose the Lady Monarchs over East Carolina. Freudig, a 6-foot guard who was also recruited by St. John's and Boston College, plans to formally sign on Wednesday.
FOREIGN FLAIR: While the jury is still out on Penicheiro and Machanguana - after all, they haven't even played a game - they've already left their mark on the team at least in one way.
``They love practice,'' Larry said. ``Their work ethic is incredible, and they've passed on that electricity not only to the players, but the coaches as well.''
Penicheiro and Machanguana were teammates on the Santarem club team in Portugal and should be an integral part of the Lady Monarchs' offense this season.
``They both potentially could be starters, but there's a lot of veterans on the team that want to make sure that doesn't happen,'' Larry said. ``Once they've learned the system they could have a tremendous impact on out game.''
ON THE SIDELINES: Junior center Angie Liston injured her back during off-season conditioning and will be treated with a cortisone injection to relieve pain and prevent the injured disc from further degenerating. Liston will be sidelined for at least three weeks. Results of an MRI and bone scan were negative. by CNB