THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, April 12, 1996 TAG: 9604120745
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY VICKI L. FRIEDMAN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 59 lines
Old Dominion's women's basketball team has signed two recruits who were players of the year in their respective states.
Nicole Bellinghausen of Las Vegas and Natalie Diaz of Mojave Valley, Ariz., are the newest Lady Monarchs. Bellinghausen is a 6-foot forward and Diaz is a 5-11 point guard.
Bellinghausen averaged 18.5 points, 12.5 rebounds and four blocked shots in leading the Bishop Gorman Lady Gaels to a 22-10 record her senior year. She holds school records in points (1,212), rebounds (868) and blocks (244).
``She likes to play defense and she loves to rebound,'' said Tom Robinson, her coach at Bishop Gorman. ``Over time I think they'll try to move her to a three position (small forward) because of her outside shooting.''
Bellinghausen shot a team-high 33 percent from 3-point range and 48 percent from the field last season. She led the Lady Gaels in scoring the last two years.
She chose ODU from a list that included Oregon State, Tulsa, Oklahoma and the University of San Diego.
Described by Robinson as ``a tremendous vocalist,'' Bellinghausen will major in voice at ODU.
``Maybe I could be like Shaq. He raps and plays basketball,'' she said. ``Whatever I do, I want to be in music: write, produce, sing. There's a lot of opportunity on the East Coast.''
Diaz, who grew up on the Mojave Indian reservation, was the Player of the Year in Arizona her sophomore and senior seasons. As a senior, she averaged 24.4 points, 13.6 rebounds, 10.1 assists and 8.6 steals a game. Her 1,887 points and 985 rebounds are the most in River Valley High School history. Her career totals in assists (767) and steals (653) are state records.
Diaz, president of her class, selected ODU over Cal State-Fullerton, Fresno and New Mexico.
``I love defense, and they have a good defense. They're always moving,''said Diaz, who visited the campus when the Lady Monarchs hosted Holy Cross in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
Diaz plans to major in English and environmental science. She said she appreciated the sincerity of the coaches during her visit.
``No one tried to impress me,'' she said. ``Everything was really laid-back.''
The Lady Monarchs would like to sign at least one more player, having lost Shonda Deberry, Esther Benjamin and Sarah Willyerd to graduation. Jill Berg, who has been hampered by injury during her two seasons at ODU, will not return to the team.
DEBERRY HONORED: Deberry will receive the 1996 ``Peach of an Athlete'' role-model award from the Atlanta Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America. Deberry, originally from Alapaha, Ga., will receive the award on April 22 in downtown Atlanta.
Deberry has also been named an Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar for 1996. The April 18 edition of Black Issues in Higher Education will feature the award recipients. Deberry will be honored Monday in a ceremony in Washington. by CNB