THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, January 11, 1996 TAG: 9601110463
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Tom Robinson
LENGTH: Medium: 72 lines
If I'm a point guard for some college basketball team, the defensive opponent most guaranteed to give me jelly legs would be Georgetown's Allen Iverson. The next-fearsome ballhawk very well could be Ticha Penicheiro of Old Dominion's Lady Monarchs.
I'm not kidding. The dogged way the junior from Portugal gets after her opposite numbers is scary. No doubt that talent will be needed tonight when 15th-ranked ODU challenges No. 4 Tennessee.
After an extended absence, ODU's climb back into and up the national rankings has been spearheaded by swarming, sweaty, shirt-to-shirt defense. It is the least glamorous part of a team's profile, but essential for any seeking notoriety.
Here's what I notice first from the Lady Monarchs' stat sheet - their opposition, which includes some of the nation's top teams, is shooting just 36 percent from the floor. Plus, ODU averages six blocked shots and 16 steals a game, 3.5 produced by Penicheiro.
``We say if you give it up, get it back,'' says coach Wendy Larry, and ODU does a pretty good job of balancing it out. It averages 22.8 turnovers, seven more giveaways than take-backs. By contrast, Tennessee is minus-six in those departments; 16 turnovers to 10 steals.
Larry's ninth ODU squad has bought body and soul into her defensive preachings. Ironically, Penicheiro was a late convert, preferring free-lance aggression last year to solid, move-your-feet fundamentals.
That has changed, Larry says, so now there is a perimeter barrier to go with what Larry calls ODU's finest-ever inside defense. And that includes ODU's three national championship teams, two of which Larry served as an assistant to Marianne Stanley.
``Last year I actually might have put too much emphasis on defense. I think it hurt us in our NCAA game,'' Larry says, lamenting ODU's offensive execution in its first-round tournament loss to Florida International.
She vowed to even out the preparation this season. ``But, you know, when I started making up the daily practice schedules, they were still mostly defense,'' Larry says.
So far, though, so good. The Lady Monarchs are 10-1, and even if they lose tonight in their final non-conference game, it's not inconceivable that they could run the table in the Colonial Athletic Association.
It's probably unfair to ODU and Larry to hatch that idea. But they are used to playing under great expectations. Besides, ODU lost just one CAA contest last year.
Wouldn't a 27-2 record entering the NCAA tournament be impressive? And wouldn't it give the Lady Monarchs the look of legitimate national title contenders? To Larry, they already claim that status.
``No question,'' Larry says. ``There's more parity in the women's game than there's ever been. And we've been on some very difficult floors this year, under some adverse conditions.''
After enduring significant adversity at ODU last week, Texas coach Jody Conradt agreed with Larry. ODU had just stampeded the Lady Longhorns 98-61, using awesome defense to build a 51-15 halftime lead against a club that barely lost to three Top 25 teams.
``It's a very interesting time to be involved in women's basketball,'' Conradt said. ``We're past the point where there are one, two or three dominant teams and then the rest of the pack. The dominant teams have fallen back and the pack is a lot larger.''
Its defense blazing, ODU is bearing down fast upon the leaders. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by CHRISTOPHER REDDICK, The Virginian-Pilot
Ticha Penicheiro averages 3.5 steals per game to help lead the Lady
Monarchs' no-frills, in-your-face defense.
by CNB