DATE: Tuesday, August 19, 1997              TAG: 9708190452

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C4   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY HARRY MINIUM, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   33 lines

ODU, U.VA. WOMEN TO MEET IN JANUARY

Old Dominion and the University of Virginia will renew their women's basketball rivalry next season in Richmond, officials will announce today.

Sources say the game will be played Tuesday, Jan. 27, at the Richmond Coliseum. The contest will be sponsored by the Richmond Sports Backers, which has called a press conference for 3 p.m. today.

ODU and U.Va., the state's premier women's basketball programs, have not met since the 1996 NCAA tournament, when Virginia beat the Lady Monarchs 70-62 in the East Regional semifinals in Charlottesville. They haven't met in a regular-season game since 1991, when U.Va. routed Old Dominion 90-59 at the ODU field house.

ODU leads the series 14-9, but U.Va. dropped the Lady Monarchs from its schedule following the 1991 season. ODU's program was then in a slump and U.Va. had appeared in two consecutive Final Fours.

However, this time it will be ODU that has Final Four credentials. The Lady Monarchs were 34-2 last season and lost to Tennessee in the national championship game.

Virginia has been to 14 consecutive NCAA tournaments but hasn't been to the Final Four since 1992. U.Va. was 23-8 last season, losing to Stanford in the West Regional semifinals. ODU upended Stanford in the Final Four semifinals.

Both teams return three starters. ODU is led by Ticha Penicheiro, a first-team All-American. U.Va. is led by DeMya Walker, a 6-foot-2 junior center who averaged 13.7 points and 7.5 rebounds.

The game will match the state's two winningest women's basketball coaches. U.Va.'s Debbie Ryan is 462-155. ODU's Wendy Larry is 272-119.

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