THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, February 12, 1996 TAG: 9602120151
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY VICKI L. FRIEDMAN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WASHINGTON, D.C. LENGTH: Medium: 57 lines
Old Dominion was weary, but you wouldn't know it from the scoreboard Sunday afternoon at Bender Arena.
Playing their third game in five days, the 10th-ranked Lady Monarchs downed American University 87-50. Afterward, even coach Wendy Larry complained of sore knees.
The game-heavy schedule was a result of a makeup game Wednesday night against East Carolina, which had been snowbound for several days in Greenville.
``It doesn't give you a lot of time to get well,'' Larry said. ``But you're dealt a hand and you have to play it. Today it was a lot more mental mistakes than physical mistakes for us.''
And the mistakes hurt. Clarisse Machanguana and Esther Benjamin were in foul trouble early, both earning their fourth personals in the first five minutes of the second half. With post player Angie Liston back in Norfolk nursing a sore knee, that left a hobbled Nyree Roberts to shoulder much of the load. Roberts, also hampered by a sore knee, sprained her left ankle Friday night against George Mason and twisted it against American.
``I didn't play well today,'' said Roberts, who had five points, five rebounds and a steal. ``I'm tired, mentally and physically, and I'm injured.''
Still, the Lady Monarchs (19-2, 11-0 in the Colonial Athletic Association) displayed their typical domination, although it wasn't as complete as it had been Jan. 7 at the field house when they beat the Eagles 94-39.
But when Sarah Willyerd netted her first 3-pointer with 9:38 remaining in the first half, the Lady Monarchs were up a comfortable 28-9, and it looked to be no contest. But American chipped away at the lead, and with ODU up 32-11, they launched a 13-0 run to cut the lead to eight. But Stacy Himes landed another trey as ODU ran out the half with a 10-2 edge to make it 42-26.
Willyerd led all scorers with 15 points including two treys. Machanguana added 13, Shonda Deberry had 11, and Mery Andrade and Aubrey Eblin 10 apiece. It was the second consecutive offensive show from Willyerd, who came into the weekend averaging 5.6 points-per-game. In her last two games, the senior is 11 of 18 from the field for 30 points, and 4 of 7 in three-point range.
Willyerd had struggled offensively since hurting her back against Richmond on Jan. 2.
``I had lost my confidence,'' she admitted. ``If you don't have the ball in your hands for a while, it starts to feel foreign.''
American (12-9, 6-5) never got any closer in the second half, shooting 25 percent for the game. Cathy Hebling led the Eagles with 12 points and Mary Klima scored 10. Ally Baker and Jeri Dorezas are out with anterior cruciate ligaments.
ODU turned the ball over an uncharacteristic 25 times in a foul-fest that featured 40 free-throw attempts. by CNB