DATE: Wednesday, March 26, 1997             TAG: 9703260677

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY VICKI L. FRIEDMAN, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: WEST LAFAYETTE, IND.              LENGTH:   74 lines

ODU: SLOPPY, BUT STILL ALIVE

The Lady Monarchs are winning ugly but sitting pretty.

Mideast Regional champ Old Dominion advanced to its first Final Four in 12 years with Monday night's 53-51 win over Florida in a game that was far from a work of art.

``If you like defense, it was a good thing,'' Lady Gators coach Carol Ross said. ``If you like showtime, you were disappointed.''

The billed battle of the posts never came to pass. While Florida's twin towers DeLisha Milton and Murriel Page combined for 27 points and 33 rebounds, ODU's Clarisse Machanguana and Nyree Roberts never got into sync, finishing with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

``We just didn't finish,'' said ODU coach Wendy Larry. ``I thought we got a couple of good looks. I don't know how many Nyree missed at the rim, but I think it was probably a record because usually when she gets in that close, she's one of our best finishers.''

The Lady Monarchs shot 35 percent from the field, which would have been a season low had they not hit 32 percent two days before in the regional semifinal against Louisiana State.

Turnovers? An uncharacteristic 21 from a team used to making no more than 15. Even after ODU appeared in control, comfortably on the way to a weekend date with Stanford, the game turned into a squeaker. Up by 14, the Lady Monarchs failed to score in the final 6:35, and Florida was unable to put in three shots in the final minute that would have tied it.

``There were times we stopped attacking,'' Larry said. ``We were playing not to lose, and we have to get over that. But as ugly as it was, we were able to win this game.''

That's the pattern of ODU in the postseason. Had Purdue sophomore Stephanie White converted a layup in the final seconds of overtime in the sub-regional final, the Lady Monarchs' season would have ended on their home floor. While LSU never put up the kind of second-half fight that might have had ODU fans biting their nails, the Lady Monarchs didn't look sharp. All-American point guard Ticha Penicheiro - who finished the tournament 4 of 19 from the field - went 0 of 8 agaisnt LSU, turning the ball over five times.

This isn't the way ODU ran up 25 straight regular-season wins and a sixth Colonial Athletic Association tournament championship. In those games, ODU made a name for itself with all sorts of crowd-pleasing plays, highlighted by Penicheiro's fancy assists and a high-speed fast break. This is the team that finished the regular season ranked first in the nation in scoring, scoring margin and field goal percentage.

``We haven't played our game yet,'' senior guard Stacy Himes said after the win over LSU. ``I can't tell you why, though.''

Machanguana would say later that ODU has been too concerned with winning. It's hard to play loose with the weight of the world hanging on every basket.

But that weight has disappeared. Playing less than its best, ODU has reached the Final Four, attaining the goal the Lady Monarchs set during the preseason.

Mery Andrade looked an emotional wreck after missing a layup that would have won the game against Purdue in overtime. But within a minute, she regrouped, hitting five of ODU's eight points to give the Lady Monarchs the overtime win. With Penicheiro slumping, sore and sick, freshman Natalie Diaz stepped up with seven points, five rebounds, three assists and a steal against Florida. Reserve guard Amber Eller played possibly her best game of the season against LSU. While the Lady Gators' defense did a job on Machanguana and Roberts, Aubrey Eblin came off the bench to score 15 points.

Impressive stats and plays that show up on SportsCenter aren't what ODU is after at this time of year. They are in the same boat now with Stanford, Notre Dame and Tennessee.

When you're two wins shy of a national title, the style points don't matter. ILLUSTRATION: HUY NGUYEN

The Virginian-Pilot

ODU's Nyree Roberts, right, oses the ball after powerring past

Florida's Murriel Page during the first half of Monday night's game.

Roberts and ODU;s Clarisse Machanguana never got into sync Monday,

combining for just 12 points and 11 rebounds.

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