THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, February 2, 1995 TAG: 9502020481
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JULIE GOODRICH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines
The Lady Monarchs cut a 15-point second-half deficit to four with two minutes remaining, but North Carolina State took command from the free-throw line for an 81-75 nonconference victory Wednesday night at the Old Dominion field house.
``We haven't raised our physical level of play, and we talked about that's what we need to do to get respect on a national level,'' ODU coach Wendy Larry said.
The Lady Monarchs (17-4) were on the brink of attaining that kind of national respect. They missed cracking The Associated Press top-25 rankings this week by four points. N.C. State received no votes in the latest poll
``This was our last chance to get respect nationally against a nonconference team, and we blew it,'' said ODU's Sarah Willyerd, who finished with a career-high 18 points. ``Everyone has to show up for those games, and we haven't. We haven't been able to capitalize on our opportunities.''
The Lady Monarchs' final eight games are against Colonial Athletic Association opponents.
ODU trailed by at least 10 points throughout the second half. N.C. State pushed its lead to 15 on a jumper by Jennifer Howard.
From that point, with the crowd of 2,844 roaring, the Lady Monarchs steadily chipped away at the lead. Ticha Penicheiro rebounded Howard's miss and drove the length of the court for a layup that cut the Lady Wolfpack's lead to 69-65 with 2:11 left.
With its offense inconsistent, ODU opted to foul. N.C. State (12-7) responded by hitting 12 of 15 free throws in the game's final two minutes as starters Penicheiro, Willyerd, Esther Benjamin and Clarisse Machanguana fouled out.
``It was like whenever we'd get close we'd relax, and they'd pull us down and score,'' Willyerd said. ``We'd take away the post and they'd kick it back out and score. We just didn't communicate like we needed to.''
``I thought we did a great job every time ODU rallied and the crowd got back into the game,'' said Lady Wolfpack coach Kay Yow, whose team shot over 55 percent for the third consecutive game. ``This was a big game for both of us. They're trying to create nationwide credibility, and so are we.''
Tammy Gibson led N.C. State with 19 points on three treys and a perfect 10 for 10 from the free-throw line. Howard added 16.
Machanguana led ODU with 20 points on 7-for-10 shooting. Penicheiro added 13 points, six assists and seven steals.
The Lady Wolfpack held Old Dominion at bay for most of the first half, frustrating the Lady Monarchs inside while building a 15-point lead on shot after shot from behind the arc.
And they built that lead with Chasity Melvin, their leading scorer, on the bench for most of the first half with two early fouls..
The Lady Wolfpack took Machanguana out of the game early. Machanguana, the Lady Monarchs' leading scorer and rebounder, scored seven points but hit only 1 of 2 from the field with no rebounds. ILLUSTRATION: TAMARA VONINSKI/Staff
N.C. State's Erin Young, left, and Old Dominion's Shonda Deberry
jockey for position as the ball bounces away. The Lady Wolfpack led
by 15 in the second half before the Lady Monarchs cut the deficit to
four.
by CNB