THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, January 6, 1995 TAG: 9501060591
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JULIE GOODRICH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 67 lines
After trips to Puerto Rico and South Florida kept them away for the better part of December, the Old Dominion Lady Monarchs finally return home tonight in an unfamiliar role - as underdogs in the Colonial Athletic Association race.
The Lady Monarchs, playing at the field house for the first time since a Dec. 3 victory over Winthrop, open their CAA schedule against James Madison. The Dukes were the preseason choice to wrest the conference title from ODU, which has won three in a row.
``When I first heard that JMU was ranked ahead of us, I thought `Yeah, right!' '' junior forward Sarah Willyerd said. ``But (the voters) didn't have a really good idea of what players we had. We've got a couple of returners, but no one knew what Ticha (Penicheiro) and Clarisse (Machanguana) could do.''
It turns out they could do most anything they wanted. Machanguana leads the conference in field goal percentage (58.3 percent) and rebounds (10.3 ppg), and is third in scoring with 16.2 ppg.
At point guard, Penicheiro leads the CAA in assists (5.9 per game) and steals (4.1 per game).
Although tonight's contest against James Madison is but the first in a long conference schedule, it's huge for Old Dominion for one reason.
The Lady Monarchs haven't lost to a conference opponent in 40 games.
``Every game in the conference is a big deal, but we've just got to take care of business,'' junior guard Shonda Deberry said. ``Now people are focused on JMU as the team to beat. We've been picked first for a few years, and teams were always coming at us.
``Now it's James Madison's turn to feel that pressure.''
STREAK STATS: The Lady Monarchs' average victory margin is 20.13 points. Four of their first six victories during the streak (all in 1991-92) were by eight points or less, including a one-point victory over East Carolina in the regular-season finale and a three-point victory over the Lady Pirates in the CAA championship game.
Since then, only two of ODU's conference wins have been by less than double-digit margins - a seven-point home victory over George Mason in '92-93 and a six-point triple-overtime win at George Mason last year.
East Carolina has been a favorite opponent. The Lady Monarchs' biggest win during the streak was a 42-point trouncing of once-mighty ECU in the first round of last year's CAA tournament. Their second-biggest victory was a 36-point pasting of the Lady Pirates two years ago. The third-biggest win was by 34 points against ECU last year during the regular season.
LIEBERMAN RETURNS: Two-time national Player of the Year Nancy Lieberman, who led the Lady Monarchs to their first two national championships in the late '70s, spoke to the ODU players after their victory over Grambling in the finals of the Church's Classic at the University of Miami. Lieberman, with husband and new baby in tow, was in Miami visiting her mother.
Lieberman was especially impressed with Penicheiro, who was named MVP of the tournament. Willyerd and Machanguana made the all-tournament team.
PLAY MISTY FOR ME: Although a bout with stomach flu kept her out against Grambling, freshman guard Misty Hart came back against South Florida and had one of her best games offensively with 11 points on 5-for-6 shooting. Hart has been steadily improving since being sidelined early in the season with a calf injury.
``She's an unconscious shooter, with great confidence on the offensive end of the floor,'' ODU coach Wendy Larry said. MEMO: Staff writer Paul White contributed to this report. by CNB