THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 22, 1995 TAG: 9501220384
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JULIE GOODRICH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 58 lines
With Tennessee on its mind, Old Dominion was all fizzle and no flash for the first 10 minutes against Dartmouth on Saturday at the field house.
With 9:44 left to play in the first half, the Lady Monarchs had scored just 10 points against the Big Green on 5-for-18 shooting. A layup by Ticha Penicheiro tied the game after Dartmouth had run out to an early 10-4 lead.
So it was hardly a surprise when Old Dominion coach Wendy Larry pulled four of her starters out and let them watch the game from the bench. The players got the message, and the Lady Monarchs closed out the half with an 18-4 run on the way to their eighth straight victory, a 69-47 win over the Big Green.
``I was hoping this game would be a dress rehearsal in some respects,'' Larry said. Old Dominion hosts Tennessee, ranked No. 2 in the country, on Tuesday. ``I know we can do better.''
``We have to think game for game,'' Penicheiro said. ``Tennessee is going to be great, but it wouldn't have mattered much had we lost to Dartmouth. We pressed for the first 5 to 7 minutes, then we relaxed and played our game. In the end it was enough.''
Esther Benjamin was the only Lady Monarch to reach double figures in scoring in the first half with 10 points. Old Dominion, usually dominant on the glass, was outrebounded, 24-15.
``We weren't intent enough on getting the rebounds, especially offensively,'' Larry said. ``We were getting one shot and they were getting four. On one possession they got five shots at the basket but missed three easy layups, so we were lucky.''
``They just outhustled us early in the first half, and we probably took them a little lightly,'' Benjamin said.
The Lady Monarchs closed out the first half with their defense in first gear, limiting Dartmouth to one basket while forcing 11 turnovers.
Old Dominion (15-2) scored the first 12 points of the second half before Brandi Jones hit a free throw to end the drought. Dartmouth (5-8) didn't sink its first field goal until Ilsa Webeck's layup with 13:40 left to play cut the Lady Monarchs' lead to 21, 40-19.
The second half belonged to ODU's Clarisse Machanguana both under the net and on the boards. Held to just four points in the first half, Machanguana exploded for 22 in the second and grabbed 11 of her game-high 13 rebounds for her 12th double-double of the season.
Old Dominion shot nearly 49 percent from the field but was off the mark from the foul line, hitting only 10 of 22 free-throw attempts. Dartmouth fared even worse from the field, hitting just 29 percent (16 of 55).
Benjamin finished with 14 points, and Penicheiro and Sarah Willyerd added seven. Penicheiro tallied a game-high six assists and four steals.
Jen Stamp led Dartmouth with 12 points off the bench. ILLUSTRATION: MARTIN SMITH-RODDEN/Staff
Ticha Penicheiro of Old Dominion drives past a Dartmouth player
during the Lady Monarchs' win.
by CNB