THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 23, 1997 TAG: 9702230319
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: FINAL
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 74 lines
As successful as Old Dominion has been against Colonial Athletic Association teams - the Lady Monarchs are going for their 42nd conference win in a row today at George Mason - one area still haunts the nation's No. 2 team.
Free throws hurt ODU in this year's lone loss, to N.C. State 24 games ago, and they've been a trouble spot ever since. On the scoreboard that doesn't show, as foul shooting hardly comes into play when you blow out teams by an average of 31.9 points per game. But don't think coach Wendy Larry isn't aware of the problem, and she said she has run out of ways to attack it in practice.
``The only thing that's going to happen now is it's going to bite us, and I hope that doesn't happen any time soon,'' Larry said. ``We've done about everything we can do. We've had blocks of time where we've shot continuously to get a good habit; we've done the punishment bit and we've done the rewarding bit. At this point in the season it's just a matter of us getting it done.''
And while ODU is either first or second in the conference in 13 statistical categories, the Lady Monarchs are rock bottom in free-throw percentage, hitting 60 percent. Among the worst offenders: Nyree Roberts at 52 percent and Clarisse Machanguana at 55 percent. Machanguana and Roberts, both in the top 10 nationally in field-goal percentage, have struggled from the line all year, though Roberts has improved dramatically in recent weeks to rise above 50 percent.
Mery Andrade and Aubrey Eblin are both above 75 percent; the rest of the team is at 55 percent. DOGFIGHT VS. CAKEWALK
The Southeastern Conference and the Atlantic Coast Conference produce the best basketball but not necessarily the best basketball team at season's end. Consider that only one team from each conference, Tennessee from the SEC and North Carolina from the ACC, has won a national championship.
Larry, perpetually asked whether the relatively weak CAA can prepare her team for a run at the national title, said she discussed the merits of competing in a tough conference with Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer. The Cardinal dominates the Pac 10 much like ODU in the CAA.
``Is it good to play competition night in and night out?'' Larry asked rhetorically. ``You would think so. But then in the long run only one team in each league has come out a national champion. Something's wrong with that picture.''
Then again, the Lady Vols have won it five times playing in the SEC. ODU VS. UConn
If top-ranked Connecticut and ODU meet, it won't be until the Final Four, but VCU coach David Glass has seen both teams up close. His Lady Rams have lost twice to the Lady Monarchs and once to the Huskies in Storrs.
Glass admitted the foul shooting could hinder ODU, but Machanguana impressed him more than UConn center Kara Wolters, a 6-foot-7 All-American.
``Kara's a bigger, slower type,'' he said. ``I think Clarisse's quickness will give Kara problems. But Connecticut has easily 15, maybe 20 fouls to give inside.
``I still think the free-throw shooting will play a role in their success in the tournament, but when you look at (ODU's) top five, they're easily the most talented team I've personally seen.''
Another distinction Glass noted was that VCU was able to nail eight of its first nine shots versus UConn. ``But we've really had trouble with Old Dominion,'' he said. ``We've really had trouble establishing anything.'' BITS AND PIECES
Machanguana currently has 1,622 career points and has moved into eighth place on ODU's all-time scoring list; she is not likely to move up, as No. 7 Medina Dixon is more than 300 points ahead of her. . . . Ticha Penicheiro is 143 points away from her career 1,000th point. . . . Stacy Himes has played 119 games for the Lady Monarchs and is two away from moving into 10th place for career games played at the school. . . . The Lady Monarchs have a player among the CAA's top five in every statistical category except one - turnovers.
- VICKI L. FRIEDMAN