THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, March 11, 1995 TAG: 9503110424
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JULIE GOODRICH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 68 lines
Having already beaten William and Mary by 41 and 23 points this season, Old Dominion had little to prove when it faced the Tribe in the semifinals of the Colonial Athletic Association tournament Friday night.
Even so, the Lady Monarchs weren't leaving anything to chance.
A crowd of 1,609 at ODU field house Friday bore witness to one of the most lopsided victories in CAA tournament history as ODU pounded the Tribe, 96-37.
The 59-point margin tied a tournament record. William and Mary's 37 points were a record low.
``I think this was one of the most collective defensive efforts from our basketball team,'' said Lady Monarchs coach Wendy Larry. ``. . . This prepared them for another great battle with James Madison.''
The Dukes defeated Richmond, 68-52, to advance to the final. ODU and JMU split the season series, with the Dukes snapping ODU's 49-game conference winning streak in Harrisonburg.
Freshman Nyree Roberts celebrated her 19th birthday by leading the Lady Monarchs (26-5) with a career-high 20 points.
``I think I'm playing better the second part of the year,'' Roberts said. ``I'm much more confident from the floor and foul line.''
Roberts was 8 for 15 from the field and hit 4 of 5 free throws against the Tribe (8-21). She has scored in double figures in five of the last six games.
Clarisse Machanguana scored 19 for ODU, and Shonda Deberry chipped in with 12.
ODU led 43-17 at the half and scored the first 16 points of the second half, capped by a 3-pointer by Ticha Penicheiro.
``They wore us down in the paint,'' said William and Mary coach Trina Thomas Patterson. ``It was a big mismatch inside.''
Although Larry substituted freely, she called a timeout and put her starters back on the floor with 8:45 left in the game and a 45-point lead.
``I wasn't trying to run up the score. I was just thinking that I wanted to get them 20 minutes of play, and some of them weren't anywhere near that,'' she said. ``We weren't looking to embarrass anyone.''
The Lady Monarchs broke the 50-point barrier with 7:17 left on the first of two Penicheiro free throws. Kenya Mason got off the bench for only the fourth time this season and ended the game with a three-point play.
The Lady Monarchs shot 50.7 percent (38 for 75) from the field and connected on over 70 percent (19 of 27) from the foul line. ODU outrebounded the Tribe 57-25 and the Lady Monarchs committed only 14 turnovers while forcing 27.
JAMES MADISON 68, RICHMOND 52: After nearly being drummed out of the tournament in the quarterfinals by the lowest seed, James Madison woke up Friday and realized its good fortune.
``We were in the electric chair yesterday, and the governor called with a reprieve,'' JMU coach Sheila Moorman said of her team's overtime victory over East Carolina.
Such intervention was unnecessary in the semifinals as James Madison rode the hot hands of its two senior starters and earned a trip to the final.
JMU, which led 34-23 at the break, ran away from the Spiders (12-16) in the second half.
Senior Kara Ratliff led the way for the Dukes (22-6) in the first half, scoring 14 points. Senior Christina Lee answered with 18 second half points. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by TAMARA VONINSKI, Staff
ODU's Nyree Roberts maneuvers between the Tribe's Cynthia Martin
(left) and Julie Hamiel.
by CNB