THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, January 28, 1995 TAG: 9501280392
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JULIE GOODRICH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Short : 39 lines
All 13 players on Old Dominion's roster got into the game and all but two scored, as the Lady Monarchs led from start to finish, dominating UNC Wilmington, 72-42, Friday in a conference matchup at the field house.
Old Dominion (16-3) leads the Colonial Athletic Association with a 5-0 record and extended its conference winning streak to 45 games.
The Lady Seahawks (2-15, 1-4) had only seven players dress for the game.
``We felt badly for them because it's unfortunate - the things they've had to work through,'' said ODU forward Sarah Willyerd. ``But it's still another game, and we needed to get the `W.' ''
The Lady Monarchs led, 33-17, at the break, led by Esther Benjamin's 14 points. UNC Wilmington cracked under the full-court press early and turned the ball over 12 times.
In the first six minutes of the second half, ODU went on a 12-3 run to extend the lead to 25. The Lady Monarchs notched their biggest lead of the game, 38 points, on a layup by Beth McGowan with 5:25 left to play.
With most of ODU's starters out of the game, the Lady Seahawks cut the lead to 28, but Amber Eller rebounded a missed basket and hit the follow-up jumper at the buzzer to give the Lady Monarchs the 30-point win.
``We wanted to work on our full-court man-to-man press, and this was a team we knew we could do that against,'' said Willyerd, who left early in the second half because of a leg injury suffered against Tennessee. ``We wanted to have less than 15 turnovers, because that's something we've been working on all season. We had 14 tonight so we're pleased with that.''
Benjamin's 14 points led the Lady Monarchs. Guards Shonda Deberry and Ticha Penicheiro added 11. Penicheiro tied a season-high with eight steals. by CNB