THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, February 8, 1996 TAG: 9602080560
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY VICKI L. FRIEDMAN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 60 lines
Anne Donovan's return to Old Dominion for the first time as a head coach was not a pleasant one Wednesday night as the 10th-ranked Lady Monarchs dismissed her East Carolina Pirates 94-45 at the field house.
In a game thrice postponed because of the weather, ODU (17-2 overall, 9-0 Colonial Athletic Association) demonstrated what coach Wendy Larry would call perhaps the finest defense a team could play.
Donovan, the former ODU great, on crutches after an accident on the ice, could only sit and watch as ODU, third in the NCAA in scoring defense, forced the Pirates into a dismal 18-percent shooting from the field in the first half. ECU (7-11, 3-6) was held to its lowest point total of the season.
``The first half was pretty incredible,'' Larry said, gazing at the stats sheet. ``That's a pretty good shooting basketball team, and our pressure on the ball was outstanding.''
ECU had played ODU closer than any CAA team in their first meeting in Greenville, which the Lady Monarchs won 75-56. And for the first 12 minutes Wednesday, it looked as if ODU would find itself in a similar fight, with the Lady Monarchs up by only 18-15. But a pair of blocked shots by Esther Benjamin launched a run that would seal the outcome as ODU outscored ECU 50-6 in the next 16 minutes.
``If you block enough shots, they'll think twice before bringing it back,'' said Benjamin, who also added 10 points.
Mery Andrade led the Lady Monarchs with 21 points, nine rebounds, eights assists and three steals.
Clarisse Machanguana, whose left cheek was bandaged after being scratched in the face, also had 21 points and Ticha Penicheiro finished with 10 points, seven assists and seven steals. ODU blocked eight shots, four by Nyree Roberts, who leads the CAA in blocks.
``I think ODU played extremely well,'' said Donovan, who hugged each of the players afterward. ``I know we played them close before, and if they're going to prepare for anyone the second time around, it's us.''
ODU was 19 of 31 (61 percent) from the field in the first half, and 56 percent for the game. ECU, led by Justine Allpress with 17 points, shot 31 percent for the game.
``I did not think we played well at East Carolina defensively,'' Larry said. ``I did not think that our defensive transition was very good and our second effort on the defensive glass was not there.''
That wasn't the case this time. ODU outrebounded ECU 39-33 and defensively had a 21-17 edge.
But Benjamin admitted to having extra incentive against the Pirates.
``The difference for me was we heard rumors about what they said about us,'' she said. ``They shouldn't have said it. It made me want to go out and play hard.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo by VICKI CRONIS, The Virginian-Pilot
ECU's Danielle Charlesworth is swarmed under by Lady Monarchs in
first half.
by CNB