THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 26, 1995 TAG: 9502270216
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JULIE GOODRICH, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 47 lines
It has been a decade since the Old Dominion women's basketball program last rose to national prominence.
In 1985, the Lady Monarchs took a 30-3 record into the NCAA tournament championship game and emerged with the university's third national title with a 70-65 win over Georgia.
The 10 members of that team, including All-American forward Medina Dixon and coach Marianne Stanley, will be the guests of honor today at the field house as ODU recognizes their achievement with halftime ceremonies.
There will be an alumni game following the Lady Monarchs' regularly scheduled contest with Colonial Athletic Association foe East Carolina.
Making the trip to Norfolk from the 1985 team are Dixon, Lisa Blais Manning, Liz Connahan, Dawn Cullen Blais, Adrienne Goodson, Donna Harrington and Bridget Jenkins.
Tracy Claxton, the tournament MVP and the team's starting center, is unable to attend because of medical reasons. Marie Christian, an assistant coach at the University of Dayton, and Alphelia Jenkins will also miss the festivities.
The Lady Monarchs started the 1984-85 season with 16 straight wins, the closest a 64-63 nailbiter at Kentucky. ODU's three loses that year - against Tennessee, N.C. State and Louisiana Tech - all came in the middle of the schedule, and the Lady Monarchs closed the season with an 11-game winning streak.
ON THE MEND: Freshman guard Amber Eller has rebounded nicely from a nasty cut below her left eye, suffered during the first half of the Lady Monarchs' game against Richmond on Feb. 16. Eller opened a gash that required seven stitches - five external and two internal - when a Richmond player caught her in the face with an elbow.
``As soon as she hit me I saw stars, but I thought it would just puff up and be a big goose egg,'' said Eller. ``I didn't feel any blood, but the ref kept telling me, `Stay down! Stay down!' ''
Eller received precautionary X-rays because the doctor initially suspected her cheekbone might be fractured. The X-rays were negative, and Eller was given seven shots to numb the area around her left eye. Internal stitches were necessary because the muscle beneath the eye was torn. by CNB