THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, February 10, 1996 TAG: 9602100419
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY VICKI L. FRIEDMAN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: FAIRFAX LENGTH: Medium: 57 lines
It was Girl Scouts night Friday at the Patriot Center, and for a while against Old Dominion, George Mason looked like one tough cookie.
In the end, the Patriots just crumbled as the 10th-ranked Lady Monarchs earned their 10th straight victory 86-64.
``As attacking and as transitional as George Mason is, I thought we were really challenged today,'' said ODU coach Wendy Larry. ``They're a team that can score quickly, and they have some outstanding perimeter shooting.''
The Lady Monarchs (18-2 overall, 10-0 Colonial Athletic Association) have outscored conference opponents 462-210 in their last five games, but the Patriots (12-8, 6-4) started quickly and led for the first six minutes until Mery Andrade's 3-pointer put ODU up 9-8.
The trey came smack in the middle of a 10-point run, and then ODU would get some more help. GMU's Keri Chaconas, the leading CAA scorer with a 19.8 average, sat down for six minutes after banging her knee going for a layup. By the time she returned with 6:12 remaining, ODU led 27-13.
``She's a dynamite player and you want her in there,'' said Patriots coach Jim Lewis of Chaconas, who was 4 for 7 from the field for 13 points. ``Certainly there's no moral victories here. The bottom line is the kind of execution we expect from our players was not there.''
The Lady Monarchs, who beat GMU 93-51 Jan. 28 at the field house, went on to lead by 18 thanks to consecutive 3-pointers by Sarah Willyerd and Ticha Penicheiro. Willyerd finished with 15 points, her biggest offensive output since hurting her back against Richmond on Jan. 2.
``She's back, and we haven't seen that in a long time,'' Larry said. ``She's finally getting her playing legs back.''
Willyerd admitted to not being in the kind of shape she wanted to be, and she's not starting as she had earlier.
``It's been an adjustment for me; I've been starting the last two seasons,'' she said. ``I feel kind of cold in the beginning. I'm not used to heating up.''
ODU has been a killer as a frontrunner, but the Patriots didn't quit, scoring the next seven, capped by a 3-pointer by Cricket Pearson, who led GMU with 17.
With the lead cut to nine, ODU's Clarisse Machanguana scored the next four and the Patriots' Maria Acevedo retaliated with one before Willyerd knocked down her second 3-pointer to end the half 42-28 in ODU's favor.
Machanguana led ODU with 22 points and Penicheiro scored 20 with nine assists. The Patriots got as close as 10 in the second half, but could never break through despite a throng of supporters, many of them enthusiastic Girl Scouts who screamed with each Mason basket.
The 1,628 attendance was the largest for a women's game in Patriot Center history.
ODU continues its road trip Sunday at American. Tipoff is at 2 p.m. by CNB