DATE: Sunday, March 2, 1997                 TAG: 9703020215

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C3   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY VICKI L. FRIEDMAN, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: RICHMOND                          LENGTH:   70 lines

DIAZ, SMALL POISED TO HELP ODU WIN 6TH STRAIGHT TITLE ON A TEAM OF GIANTS, THE NEWCOMERS HAVE GROWN A LOT THIS YEAR AND WILL BE A THREAT TO ECU IN THE FINAL.

A year ago Natalie Diaz, sitting in the stands at the Old Dominion field house, watched the home team cruise to a fifth straight Colonial Athletic Association championship.

Diaz didn't imagine herself a part of that picture just then. ``I didn't think about it,'' she said. ``I just realized the team had such good chemistry on and off the court. They were really dedicated, and that was something I wanted to be a part of. I knew they were on the verge of something big.''

Today, as ODU (28-1), ranked No. 2 nationally, closes in on its sixth straight conference crown, Diaz is part of that chemistry. The freshman point guard and junior guard LaToya Small are the major contributors among the five newcomers who will be starting their collection of championship rings with a victory today. Everyone else simply will be adding to theirs.

The top-seeded Lady Monarchs meet Anne Donovan's sixth-seeded East Carolina Lady Pirates (13-15) at 12:30 p.m. today at the Richmond Coliseum to decide the title. ECU, winner of its last five, advanced by upsetting third-seeded Richmond and then beating seventh-seeded Virginia Commonwealth. While no current Lady Pirates player has been on a team that has won a tournament game before this season, no ODU team has ever lost a game in the CAA tourney.

At the start of the season, Diaz and Small were looking to establish roles on a roster that returned four starters from last year's 29-3 team. Small, a rebounding specialist, quickly became an integral part of coach Wendy Larry's rotation, while Small gradually increased her playing time while learning the ropes from senior point guard and Naismith Award finalist Ticha Penicheiro.

Small, averaging 18 minutes, splits time with Stacy Himes and is often on the floor before four minutes have ticked off the clock. She averages 6.4 boards, third on the team, has rebounding down to a science and is rarely out of position when a ball comes off the rim. Also developing into more of a scoring threat, the 5-foot-11 swing player started two games earlier in the season when Clarisse Machanguana was out with pneumonia.

Small averaged 14 points and 11.3 rebounds at Pensacola Junior College last year, but developing that kind of presence at ODU was initially intimidating.

``I think anybody who would come in and have to play with Ticha and Clarisse and Mery (Andrade) and Nyree (Roberts) would be like, `Oh, my God,' '' Small said. ``When I first saw them in action, I said, `How am I going to play with these girls?' I thought they were the best players I ever saw in my life. And I still think that. The only difference now is I'm just as good as they are and I can play just as well as they can.''

Diaz has the daunting task of backing up - and next year, replacing - Penicheiro, regarded by many as the finest point guard in the country. Early in the season, while Diaz showed confidence, she made mistakes. Now she makes fewer, scores more and runs the offense with growing poise.

A native of Mojave Valley, Ariz., where she was the state's high school player of the year twice, Diaz admits, ``I could have stayed at a lot of the California schools and been the starting point guard and been the star. But I pretty much liked getting torn down. I'm getting rebuilt with a lot more assets.''

And come mid-afternoon, barring a cataclysmic upset, she and Small will pick up the trappings of a conference crown. While Diaz was on a successful squad at River Valley High and Small led Pensacola to an appearance in the Florida State Junior College semifinals, neither has ever been part of a championship team.

``I was thinking about it on the way up on the bus,'' Diaz said. ``It's amazing - I get to play with Ticha, Clarisse and Stacy. I doubt there'll ever be something this special again.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Photo]

MIKE HEFFNER

Freshman point guard Natalie Diaz, pictured shooting, has expanded

her role on ODU's roster.

Send Suggestions or Comments to webmaster@scholar.lib.vt.edu