THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, February 3, 1997 TAG: 9702030131
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY VICKI L. FRIEDMAN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: 74 lines
Richmond was able to hang with second-ranked Old Dominion for 12 minutes into the first half of Sunday's Colonial Athletic Association contest at the Robins Center, and that in itself, said Spiders point guard Erin Curran, was something of a victory.
It was the only one Richmond would get, as ODU (19-1, 9-0) downed the Spiders 88-65. It was the second straight Lady Monarchs' game without leading scorer Clarisse Machanguana, who stayed in Norfolk to recover from the pneumonia that struck her left lung earlier in the week. Reserve center Angie Liston also did not make the trip, still nursing a viral infection. The rest of the team looked a tad groggy as well.
``I don't think there's any question that Old Dominion didn't play with the emotion and enthusiasm this team is used to playing with,'' said ODU coach Wendy Larry, who acknowledged that everyone on the team was taking antibiotics as a preventative measure. ``We just weren't sharp.''
Richmond (12-7, 6-3), coming off a 65-46 win at James Madison on Friday, got as close as any team in the conference has come to pulling off the upset. When Mery Andrade laid one in with 12:26 to go in the first half to put the Lady Monarchs up by eight, ODU looked on the verge of the expected rout. But the Spiders scored the next seven, capped by Amber Eller fouling Michelle Florin on a transition layup that cut ODU's lead to 18-17. But Richmond couldn't sustain the momentum or withstand the bruising style of the ODU defense. The Lady Monarchs closed out the half with a 25-8 run.
``It's tough for us to play a game that physical with the talent we have,'' said Spiders coach Bob Foley. ``When a game gets out of hand like that, it's to ODU's advantage.''
Nyree Roberts, 0 for 4 from the field in the first 19 minutes, closed out the half with four points in the final 45 seconds. The junior post had her first three shots batted in her face by Amy Dorsett, the league's top shot blocker and in the top five nationally.
``I knew if we could get on her right shoulder, she couldn't turn, and she's much less effective,'' Foley said of Roberts. ``Roberts got quick points at the end of the half because we let her go to her right. When you do that I don't know if there's anybody who can stop her.''
Thanks to foul trouble, Dorsett couldn't stop Roberts in the second half, when she exited with 9:14 to go. Roberts went on to tally 21 more points, matching the career-high she set Friday night against VCU.
Larry said ODU's adjustment was just getting Roberts to believe in herself again.
``Once you get a couple of shots blocked, you have a tendency to go away from your strengths,'' Larry said. ``We talked to her about how good shot blockers will continue to block shots, but they will also foul. So you have to continue going to your strength, not away from it. Nyree was trying to do things she typically doesn't do.''
The second half was more typical of ODU, although atypical of Larry, who received her first technical of the season after berating the officials when her team didn't come out of a huddle fast enough to defend the inbounds pass. But that didn't much matter, as the Spiders never regained the punch they showed in the first half.
In addition to Roberts' 25, Aubrey Eblin scored 15, an ailing Penicheiro 14, LaToya Small 12 and Andrade 11. Curran and Carole Detollenaere scored 18 apiece for Richmond; it was Curran's career-high.
Penicheiro played 33 minutes, but looked winded each time she was sent to the sidelines for a rest. Afterward she said she felt tired and congested with a burning chest.
And Curran admitted that illness would be about the only thing that could prevent ODU from a conference sweep. ``Maybe if they all get pneumonia,'' she joked.
And even with a second half that didn't live up to the first for the Spiders, Curran said it felt great to get so close.
``In my three years here, including the game that we played down there this year, that was the best half we ever, ever played against them,'' she said. ``You just hope they don't kill you. You hope they don't kill you by 100. Losing by 23, that's a big step for us.''