THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Saturday, February 17, 1996            TAG: 9602170489
SECTION: SPORTS                   PAGE: C2   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY VICKI L. FRIEDMAN, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: NORFOLK                            LENGTH: Medium:   56 lines

BETTER LATE THAN EVER: ODU CRUISES THE LADY MONARCHS ROLL OVER RICHMOND, WHICH DIDN'T ARRIVE UNTIL GAME TIME.

Richmond blew into town late and got blown out early 92-44 by the eighth-ranked Lady Monarchs Friday night at the field house.

Old Dominion (20-2, 12-0 in the Colonial Athletic Association) romped to a 52-20 halftime lead to win its 10th straight before an estimated crowd of 800.

The Spiders (10-11, 4-6) left Richmond shortly before 3 in the afternoon, but the team bus didn't pull into the slushy field house parking lot until 7:35, the scheduled tipoff time. The players trudged up the slippery steps and hustled into the locker room to change, pushing back game time until after 8. And just as player introductions were set to begin, the public address system went out, and the game didn't get under way until 8:20. Even then, the ODU band was a no-show, forcing fans to hum common pep band themes without musical backup.

Clarisse Machanguana led ODU with 20 points and 10 rebounds, her fourth double-double of the season. Ticha Penicheiro recorded a triple-double with 15 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists. Nyree Roberts scored 16 and Mery Andrade 10 for the Lady Monarchs, who forced 31 turnovers.

Penicheiro said the delay didn't bother the Lady Monarchs, who took advantage of the time by playing a makeshift game of Pictionary.

``Actually it was pretty fun. Coach (Wendy) Larry divided us into two teams and we had a good game going,'' Penicheiro said. ``Plus, my team won.''

``Whatever we could do to keep our mind off the time,'' Larry said. ``There was no way to predict game time. They were giving us an update, but even when they called and said they were on Terminal Boulevard, it still took an hour.''

ODU put together a 28-3 run in the first half and the Spiders packed it in behind a 9-of-25 shooting effort for 36 percent from the field in the first half. Richmond shot 31 percent for the game and was led by Mollie McClure's 11 points. ODU was also sensational from the free-throw line, hitting 31 of 39 for 79 percent.

Penicheiro played 35 minutes, making up for the loss of backup point guard Amber Eller. Eller missed Friday's game after rupturing the inner membrane of her left ear. She went into the hospital Tuesday and was released Friday. She will not play Sunday against Virginia Commonwealth but could practice next week.

``No one missed Amber tonight more than Ticha,'' Larry said. ``Ticha did a tremendous job on the glass. . . . I think she could have finished her shots more. She got some good looks at the rim, but you can see she was still thinking about the pass.''

Angie Liston also saw her first playing time of the month. Liston, who played nine minutes, had been out with soreness in both knees. by CNB