THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, March 17, 1995 TAG: 9503170665
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JULIE GOODRICH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: KNOXVILLE, TENN. LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines
Down in the second half, the Old Dominion women's team looked to forward Sarah Willyerd, as it had so many other times this season. Thursday, Willyerd played a magnificent game, recording her first career double-double with 25 points and 12 rebounds, but it wasn't enough, as Florida International hit its free throws down the stretch and defeated ODU, 81-76, at Thompson-Boling Arena.
``It's been a habit all year long that if our inside game isn't playing well, our outside game picks it up,'' said ODU coach Wendy Larry. ``We just haven't been able to put the two together.''
No one had a better excuse for their lack of concentration than Willyerd, who found out Wednesday night that her grandfather had passed away.
``I wanted to dedicate this game to him,'' said a tearful Willyerd after the game. She left immediately to catch a flight back to Michigan for her grandfather's funeral.
``I knew that we had a shot all the way along, and that if I could just give everyone else a spark and pick up the team, we could have gone all the way,'' Willyerd said.
Down by five late in the game, ODU, behind Willyerd, grabbed the lead and a chance to win with less than 2 1/2 minutes left. FIU had led, 73-68, but a putback by Esther Benjamin and two Willyerd layups put ODU ahead, 74-73, for the first time since the 7:27 mark of the first half.
Tatana Pokorna, one of four Florida International starters from Eastern Europe, came right back with a fast-break layup to put the Golden Panthers back on top, 75-74, with 2:07 left to play.
Florida International bought some breathing room with three points from the foul line. With 1:10 left, Nyree Roberts muscled a shot in to bring ODU back within two.
On the next possession, the Golden Panthers let the shot clock run down to eight seconds, then Willyerd was called for her third foul. Kathy Brown stepped to the line for the one-and-one, and her first shot rattled around and in.
Brown nailed the next shot to make it a two-possession game for the Lady Monarchs. With 23 seconds left, Ticha Penicheiro turned the ball over on the inbounds pass when FIU's Andrea Nagy stepped in front of Willyerd. Brown hit a foul shot for the final margin.
``I think we did a real good job of controlling the tempo,'' said International coach Cindy Russo. ``We needed to make Old Dominion play our game.''
The Lady Monarchs' defense, outstanding in the Colonial Athletic Association tournament, came up short, especially against FIU center Albena Branzova. Branzova, fifth in the nation in shooting at 64.1 percent, nailed her first seven shots and finished 11 of 12 from the floor for a game-high 26 points.
ODU failed to capitalize when Branzova was called for her fourth foul with 9:03 left in the second half. Erica Rivers (15 points) and Porkona (10 points) picked up the slack and refused to allow the Lady Monarchs to cut into what was then an eight-point lead.
Florida International scored the first eight points of the game. Willyerd got ODU on the board at 17:20 with a putback of her own miss. A layup by Branzova gave the Golden Panthers a 16-9 lead at 14:40.
The Lady Monarchs reeled off the next 12 points to take their biggest lead of the game, 21-16. But Nagy, who had 12 points and 14 assists, tied the game at 23 with a 3-pointer, and Florida International gradually pulled away to take a 42-37 lead at the half.
ODU freshman guard Amber Eller banged knees with Brown early in the game, had to be helped off the court and did not return.
Penicheiro fell to the court hard after being fouled on a layup two minutes into the second period, hurting her back. She was motionless on the floor for several minutes before walking to the bench. She returned four minutes later and finished with nine points. ILLUSTRATION: ASSOCIATED PRESS
Old Dominion's Beth McGowan collides with Florida International's
Andrea Nagy as Nagy shoots.
by CNB