THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, February 20, 1995 TAG: 9502200147
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JULIE GOODRICH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: HARRISONBURG, VA. LENGTH: Medium: 66 lines
It has been nearly four years since James Madison defeated the No. 1 team in the country. Since then the Dukes haven't been in a game that could compare.
In 1991 the victim was top-ranked Penn State, who fell to JMU, 73-71, in the second round of the NCAA tournament. On Sunday the Dukes scored their biggest win since, knocking off conference leader Old Dominion, 87-80, before 2,450 at the Convocation Center.
The loss to JMU snapped the Lady Monarchs' 49-game Colonial Athletic Association winning streak. The Dukes scored more points on ODU than any other team this season and the most of any CAA team since Richmond scored 88 points against the Lady Monarchs at the end of the 1990-91 season.
``There are games where you throw the textbook away,'' said JMU coach Sheila Moorman. ``This was a win from the heart.''
ODU (20-5, 9-1) scratched back from a 10-point deficit midway through the first to take a one-point lead at halftime, 34-33.
``We were happy to be going in with the lead, but there was still a feeling that we didn't really control the game,'' said ODU coach Wendy Larry. ``I was proud of their fight, because at one point you could have closed the book on us.''
Two free throws by Sarah Schreib 11 seconds into the second half put JMU back in front for good. The Dukes led by as much as 11 with 10:32 left to play on a 3-pointer by Holly Rilinger.
The Lady Monarchs were still in the game down the stretch, trailing by only four points with 5:58 left to play. But the Dukes (17-6, 10-1) matched them basket for basket, then took command in the last two minutes from the free-throw line, hitting 9 of 11 attempts.
Four JMU starters scored in double figures, but the game belonged solidly to Schreib, last year's CAA Rookie of the Year.
After being held scoreless for the last 16 minutes of the first half, Schreib exploded for 23 points in the second, finishing with a career-high 30. She hit three key 3-pointers and dominated the taller ODU post players inside as JMU shot 80 percent (16 for 20) in the second half.
``She was the difference in this game, no question. I didn't see her make any mistakes,'' Larry said. ``I don't know if there's a better player coming out of James Madison in a long time.''
In the first half, Ticha Penicheiro nailed a 3-pointer from the top of the key with two minutes left to bring ODU within a basket, 31-29. The Dukes went up by four on two free throws, but Sarah Willyerd drew the Lady Monarchs within one with 29 seconds left to play with another 3-pointer.
A turnover gave the ball back to ODU with nine seconds left, and point guard Beth McGowan sent the ball into Willyerd in the paint. Willyerd's shot rolled around the rim as the buzzer sounded, then dropped in to give ODU a 34-33 lead, the team's first since the opening minutes.
Willyerd finished with 25 points, a career high. Penicheiro's 16 points were also a career mark, and Clarisse Machanguana had 18.
ODU hits the road for a game Thursday at UNC Wilmington before wrapping up its CAA schedule with three games at home.
JMU has three games left to play.
Should both teams win their remaining conference games, they would finish tied in the regular-season standings at 13-1. A coin flip at the end of the season would be used to determine the No. 1 seed for the conference tournament, which the Lady Monarchs host March 9-11. by CNB