THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, January 20, 1996 TAG: 9601200450
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY VICKI L. FRIEDMAN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: GREENVILLE, N.C. LENGTH: Medium: 59 lines
The Old Dominion women felt the pressure in the first half Friday night at Minges Coliseum, then applied it in the second half in a 75-56 rout of East Carolina.
Old Dominion (12-2, 4-0 Colonial Athletic Association) gave no presents to rookie ECU coach Anne Donovan, a three-time All-American and six-year assistant coach for the Lady Monarchs. ODU forced 35 turnovers, blocked five shots and outrebounded the Lady Pirates 40-33.
But after the game there was a moment for some affection and recognition.
``I gave her a big hug and told her I loved her,'' said ODU senior Sarah Willyerd, who saw her first substantial playing time since twisting her back Jan. 2 against Richmond. Shonda Deberry and Ticha Penicheiro also embraced the Basketball Hall of Famer.
With two ECU starters sidelined - Tracey Kelley with an injured larynx and Belinda Cagle with a separated shoulder - Donovan said the Lady Pirates (5-8, 1-4) faced questions all week about how big a rout it was going to be versus the 15th-ranked Lady Monarchs. And the rout looked to be on when ODU, which has won 22 of its last 23 games against ECU, went up by 19 with just under five minutes left in the first half. But the Lady Pirates closed the gap with an 11-2 run and ODU went to the break up by 10, by far its smallest halftime lead of the CAA season.
``I think we rattled them a little bit in the first half,'' Donovan said. ``Ninety-eight percent of the time we followed our game plan really well. You cannot not talk about the 35 turnovers. Yes, a lot of them were created by Old Dominion's great pressure defense, but a lot of them we created ourselves.''
The Lady Pirates, whose tallest starter was 5-foot-11, forced ODU to shoot from the perimeter for the first 20 minutes, keeping ODU's three starters of 6-feet or better in check.
``We were willing to give up the outside shot rather than have 6-foot-6 outshoot 5-11.''
But the ODU got inside in the second half, starting with a 19-4 tear. Frontline players Nyree Roberts and Clarisse Machanguana finished with 15 points apiece and Deberry added 12.
Meanwhile, East Carolina looked worn down. The Lady Pirates only used two subs, who played just eight minutes.
``I think one of the things that we did much better in the second half than we did in the first half was attack the glass,'' ODU coach Wendy Larry said. ``We did not attack the glass in the first half on the offensive end or the defensive end.''
Donovan said competing against her alma mater didn't really come into play.
``One thing that struck me throughout the game was how familiar I was with their player personnel,'' said Donovan, who recruited many of the current Lady Monarchs. ``Nothing really surprised me that they did out there. ODU in the past didn't handle the zone quite so well. I expected them to be poised, and they were.'' by CNB