DATE: Sunday, November 9, 1997              TAG: 9711090159

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C9   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY VICKI L. FRIEDMAN, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: NORFOLK                           LENGTH:   25 lines

LADY MONARCHS IMPRESSIVE IN EXHIBITION WIN

It was just an exhibition, but what a preview.

The Old Dominion women's basketball team dominated the Finnish national team 105-46 Saturday night at the field house. The Lady Monarchs, ranked third in the Associated Press preseason poll released Friday, got 40 points from Nyree Roberts and 16 assists from Ticha Penicheiro.

Returners Roberts, Penicheiro and Mery Andrade were joined by seniors LaToya Small and Amber Eller-Paul in the starting five.

``I thought they started out with a great deal of intensity,'' said coach Wendy Larry. ``I don't know if we actually ended up executing the way we wanted to execute or playing position defense the way we wanted, but I certainly can't complain with the way people played hard.''

Larry rotated in a number of combinations, starting with the smaller lineup using Eller and Small, going to a bigger one with 6-foot-5 juco transfer Emmora Keenan down low and then having Natalie Diaz share point guard duties with Penicheiro. Though sloppy at times, the combinations were clicking as ODU shot 53 percent from the field.

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