DATE: Monday, March 3, 1997                 TAG: 9703030171

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY VICKI L. FRIEDMAN, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: RICHMOND                          LENGTH:   68 lines

1 DOWN, 1 TO GO FOR ODU WOMEN BAG THEIR 6TH CAA TITLE IN ROW

Second-ranked Old Dominion faced a team on a Cinderella-like run Sunday afternoon at the Richmond Coliseum, but the folks with the Midas touch prevailed. Top-seeded ODU rolled past sixth-seeded East Carolina 83-46 to give the Lady Monarchs their sixth straight Colonial Athletic Association crown.

The Lady Monarchs (29-1), who breezed through their 19 CAA games never so much as trailing at halftime, have whipped league opponents 45 straight times in dominating the conference they became a part of in 1992-93. They now bid adieu to the CAA and wait for the NCAA pairings to be revealed on Sunday night. ODU should host the first two rounds as a No. 1 seed.

``This is something we've worked for for five months,'' said ODU coach Wendy Larry. ``I have to give credit to the seniors who day in and day out prepared this team for battle.''

ECU (13-16) completed an impressive run - a five-game win streak that included an upset over third-seeded Richmond in the tournament's quarterfinals followed by a win over Virginia Commonwealth in the semis. And in the opening 13 minutes of the final, the fairy tale continued, with the Pirates hanging with the Lady Monarchs shot for shot, not allowing ODU to jump to its accustomed big lead.

Beth Jaynes nailed a jumper with 13:01 remaining, tying the score at 12, but ODU went back up by four when Nyree Roberts sank a pair of free throws and Aubrey Eblin added a bucket. Tracey Kelley put the Pirates within two, but ECU got no closer the rest of the way. Clarisse Machanguana and Roberts teamed to put ODU up by six as a familiar story unfolded.

Posts Roberts and Machanguana, who Larry calls her twin towers, began to wear down a Pirates team unable to sustain the pace and tempo of the ODU offense. The Lady Monarchs' lead stretched from 10 to 17 and 20, with a 41-21 edge, at the half.

``It's just a matter of time before Old Dominion wears you down physically and mentally,'' said ECU coach Anne Donovan. ``In a matter of minutes, they find your weaknesses and exploit them.''

East Carolina's weakness was not strategy but athleticism. Donovan sent her team out in an aggressive man-to-man, advising her posts to lean into Machanguana and Roberts, two of the worst foul shooters on the team.

``I just wasn't strong enough to break them down,'' Kelley said, a 6-foot post. ``All the strength I have is not enough to check them out or keep them from making their shots.''

Kelley and ECU's leading scorer Justine Allpress, held to nine points, were part of the all-tournament team that was otherwise ODU. Machanguana, who scored 69 points in the three games was named MVP. Also receiving honors: Mery Andrade, Roberts and Penicheiro.

Roberts' 22 points led all scorers followed by Machanguana's 19 and Andrade's 10. Jen Cox led the Pirates with 10 points.

Andrade and Penicheiro kicked off the post-game celebration by draping a Portuguese flag around their shoulders. Walk-ons Angela Carter and Tarijuana Napoleon initiated the cutting of the net with Machanguana finishing up the players' part. Larry clipped the last bit, hoisting it above her head and waving to the cheering ODU fans.

Now ODU has nine days to prepare for the first round of the NCAA tournament. Because the men's and women's tournaments were held together this season, the women's season ended a week earlier than usual.

``We've never had this kind of time before,'' Larry said. ``We'll re-evaluate the things we know we have to do better and continue doing things we do very well. We will solicit our scrimmage team to help us in that regard and keep us conditioned.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by HUY NGUYEN/The Virginian-Pilot

ODU coach Wendy Larry cuts down the net after the Lady Monarchs beat

ECU 83-46 for the CAA title.

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