THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, March 8, 1996 TAG: 9603080733
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY VICKI L. FRIEDMAN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 62 lines
If you've watched the Lady Monarchs vs. the Colonial Athletic Association this season, you seen them school the league in defense. But Thursday afternoon against Richmond, they gave another kind of lesson - in chemistry.
The effort earned sixth-ranked and top-seeded Old Dominion its 15th straight win 92-61 over the eighth-seeded Spiders in the quarterfinals of the CAA tournament at the field house. The Lady Monarchs (25-2) meet American in today's semifinals at 5:30 p.m.
ODU's starters found the right mix early, coasting to an 18-0 lead that consumed the game's first nine minutes. The Spiders (13-15), who got off to an inauspicious start by picking up two fouls in the first 11 seconds, were 0 for 4 from the field in that period with eight turnovers.
``Obviously there is some tremendous chemistry right now in our starting five,'' said ODU coach Wendy Larry. ``But we also need to get 6, 7, 8 and 9 buying into that whole theory as well.''
ODU's starters accounted for 68 points, led by Clarisse Machanguana, whose 28 points, seven rebounds, four steals and two assists came in 19 minutes. Ticha Penicheiro looked every bit the CAA Player of the Year, an honor she received Tuesday night, with some fakes you won't find in any textbook.
``Everything starts in practice,'' Penicheiro said. ``Since last year I feel a big difference, especially in people catching my passes. My turnovers went down and my assists went up. It's not just the starting five; everybody has that chemistry.''
Penicheiro finished with 10 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds.
With Machanguana in double figures and two timeouts spent, Richmond finally got on the board at the 10:34 mark when Mollie McClure nailed two free throws. The Spiders settled down with the ODU bench flowing in, and Denise Winn's jumper pulled them to within nine at 22-13. But ODU embarked on a 12-0 run, led by Machanguana's seven, to regain a control they would not relinquish.
After shooting 60 percent from the field, ODU led 46-24 at the half, capped by Amber Eller's 25-foot jumper at the buzzer.
``They work well together; they know each other's strengths and weakness,'' said Spiders guard Patience Jones. ``They're just consistently after you the whole time. It's like you have to catch them while they're sleeping, which is very rare.''
The Spiders opened the second half by throwing the inbounds pass out of bounds followed by Jennifer Meade missing two free throws. The Lady Monarchs went up by as many as 39 points on their way to thrashing Richmond for a third straight time this season.
Winn's 20 points led the Spiders, and Jones and Meade scored 10 apiece. ODU's 25 steals set a tournament record as did Richmond's 34 turnovers.
On the boards, ODU had the edge 43-27, including a 20-7 advantage in offensive rebounds. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
JIM WALKER/The Virginian-Pilot
ODU's Ticha Penicheiro flashes by Richmond's Erin Curran in a
10-point, 11-assist, seven-rebound afternoon.
by CNB