Lady Monarchs

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Its campus is located near the Norfolk, Va., waterfront, so it's entirely appropriate for the Old Dominion women's basketball team to have adopted a nautical theme for its season.And with 20 seconds left in last night's Mideast Regional final, a two-point lead over No. 7 Florida and three starters with four fouls each facing a possible overtime, the second-ranked Lady Monarchs' hopes of reaching the Final Four seemed to be in danger of taking on water.But the top-seeded Lady Monarchs' oft-maligned bench came through and Florida guard Dana Smith's 8-foot jumper bounded long off the rim with five seconds to go.As a result, Old Dominion will set sail for the national semifinals with a 53-51 win over the third-seeded Lady Gators.

Demauria Liles scored 20 points and No. 15 Maryland held Old Dominion without a field goal for the final four minutes in a 74-65 victory yesterday in Norfolk, Va. Shadasia Green's layup gave the Lady Monarchs a 63-62 lead with 3:56 to play, but Old Dominion, which led by eight points in the first half, made just two free throws the rest of the way. "That's not the effort that we can afford to have in our own house and expect to be a top-20 team," Old...

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- The breaks just seem to keep going the right way for the Old Dominion women's basketball team.Holding a one-point lead last Sunday near the end of overtime in their second-round game in the NCAA tournament, the Lady Monarchs watched a potential game-winning Purdue shot rim out, sending them on to yesterday's Mideast Regional semifinal here at Purdue's Mackey Arena.And in the semifinal, No. 2 Old Dominion, the top seed in the region, caught some luck when fourth-seeded Louisiana State couldn't find the basket for long-enough stretches to give the Lady Monarchs a 62-49 win.Old Dominion (32-1)

The No. 2 Maryland women's lacrosse team (13-1) got goals from 12 different players in a 20-7 home rout of the Loyola Greyhounds (2-11). Lauren Cohen had four goals for the Terps, and Krista Pellizzi added two goals and two assists. Casey Magor also scored a hat trick, and Mollie Reese had a goal and three assists. The Terps outshot Loyola 42-21. Kate McHarg had five goals for the Greyhounds, with Colleen O'Keefe scoring the other two. Loyola's Karen Nicolaus had 10 saves, and the Terps got a combined eight saves from three different goaltenders.

Suzanne Wosczyna scored four goals and had two assists to lead Old Dominion to a 14-8 Colonial Athletic Association win over Towson yesterday at Towson Stadium, giving the Lady Monarchs their first undefeated conference season since 1993. The Tigers (7-6, 1-5) took a 3-2 lead in the first half after Caitin Marshall found Martha Dwyer for a goal with 19:01 left before halftime, but the Lady Monarchs (11-3, 7-0) answered with seven straight goals to take control. Becky Trumbo provided one of Towson's few bright spots, finishing with three goals to raise her season total to 43 points and set a program record for most points by a freshman.

CINCINNATI -- The talk in women's basketball circles in January was that Tennessee, with a 10-6 record, had lost the magic that had brought last year's national championship.The Lady Vols, playing a murderous schedule, appeared to be on the verge of playing their way into a low seed in the NCAA tournament, or at worst, not even getting in, as coach Pat Summitt feared.But two months later, Tennessee claimed what seems to be the team's birthright, another national championship, with a 68-59 win over No. 2 Old Dominion.

CINCINNATI -- For people who know women's basketball beyond Rebecca Lobo or Sheryl Swoopes or Lisa Leslie, tonight's NCAA championship game between Tennessee and Old Dominion is like a page right out of history.The Lady Vols, of course, have always been a part of the tapestry of the game, as their four titles and 10 Final Four appearances attest.But, for Old Dominion, tonight's title game appearance is akin to Lauren Bacall's Oscar nomination after years of noticeable, but not widely acclaimed, work.

Senior guard Sharron Francis scored a season-high 15 points and had five assists to lead No. 21 Old Dominion to a 66-27 rout of Towson yesterday at the Towson Center. The victory was the eighth straight for the Lady Monarchs (14-5, 11-0) and the 130th win in their past 131 Colonial Athletic Association games. The Tigers' school-record losing streak was extended to 16. Francis, who made six of 10 shots from the field and three of six three-point field-goal attempts, was one of three Lady Monarchs to score in double figures.

CINCINNATI -- A betting person would wager that, at some point, the Old Dominion women's basketball team will run out of the luck that has traveled with it all through the NCAA tournament.The trouble for their opponents is that by the time that happens, the Lady Monarchs may already have the national championship.With less than 10 seconds to play in overtime of their national semifinal last night, the second-ranked Lady Monarchs, clinging to a one-point lead and with two starters fouled out, allowed third-ranked Stanford to have three shots at the basket, any one of which would have ended their season.

Yesterday's women's lacrosse game between Towson and Old Dominion was as close to a playoff game as it can get during the regular season. For the No. 18 Tigers, a win opened the door to postseason play. Converting three early Lady Monarchs turnovers set the stage for a 10-5 Tigers victory that clinched a berth in the four-team Colonial Athletic Association tournament at Hofstra in two weeks. The CAA champion gets an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Though the Tigers (11-3, 5-2 CAA)

Lauren Troupe scored a game-high 21 points and the Loyola women's basketball team made 26 of 27 free throws to extend its winning streak to four as the Greyhounds beat Iona, 77-69, yesterday at Reitz Arena. The Gaels (9-10, 6-4 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) took an early 9-0 lead before the Greyhounds (12-7, 7-3) went on a 10-0 run for the lead with 14:07 left in the half. After going back and forth, Loyola took the lead for good, hitting nine of 10 free throws in the final five minutes.

The top-ranked and top-seeded Maryland field hockey team never trailed in its NCAA tournament semifinal game, claiming a 3-2 victory over perennial power and No. 3 Old Dominion last night at Trager Stadium in Louisville, Ky. The Terps (22-2) attacked early and often, attempting 17 shots in the game, eight in the first half. But the defense was even better, limiting the Lady Monarchs (19-6) to just six shots for the game, including just one in the first period. With the score tied at 1-1 early in the second half, the Terps' Janneke van Leeuwen scored on a penalty corner off an assist from Paula Infante at the 26:22 mark of the second half to give Maryland a 2-1 lead.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The top-seeded Maryland field hockey team never trailed in its NCAA tournament semifinal claiming a 3-2 victory over No. 4 Old Dominion at Trager Stadium. The Terps (22-2) will face Duke (18-4) for the NCAA championship on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on CSTV. Duke beat fellow Atlantic Coast Conference rival Wake Forest 3-2. The Terps attacked early and often attempting 17 shots in the game, eight in the first half. The defense was even better, limiting the Lady Monarchs (19-6)

No. 12 Maryland took advantage of some early chances and then pulled away in the second half to defeat No. 10 North Carolina, 4-1, last night at Ludwig Field in a men's game televised nationally by Fox Soccer Channel. The Terps (10-3-0, 4-1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) recorded their fifth straight win and sixth consecutive against a ranked opponent. The Tar Heels (9-3-1, 1-3-1 ACC) have lost three of their past four, including three straight in conference. "We knew we would be have to be good in the final third, and our execution on counterattacks was exquisite," coach Sasho Cirovski said.

Yesterday's women's lacrosse game between Towson and Old Dominion was as close to a playoff game as it can get during the regular season. For the No. 18 Tigers, a win opened the door to postseason play. Converting three early Lady Monarchs turnovers set the stage for a 10-5 Tigers victory that clinched a berth in the four-team Colonial Athletic Association tournament at Hofstra in two weeks. The CAA champion gets an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Though the Tigers (11-3, 5-2 CAA)

America East women Site: Reich Family Pavilion, Hartford, Conn. When: Today through Saturday. 2004 champion: Maine. 2005 favorite: Maine. The top-seeded Black Bears (16-2, 20-8) have won three straight regular-season titles, with their latest championship coming without benefit of a flashy scorer. Instead, Maine won this season with outstanding shooting from the field (.439) and free-throw line (.754), in addition to three-point shooting .402), all tops in the league, plus a league-leading team assist/turnover ratio (1.01)

In a game with 11 lead changes and nine ties, Canisius came out on top against Loyola, 77-74, in women's basketball at Reitz Arena yesterday. Katie Scherle led the Greyhounds (7-14, 6-6 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) with 20 points and 11 rebounds. The Golden Griffs (13-8, 9-3) took the lead for good at 72-70 in the final minute. Army 89, Navy 81: Plebe Cara Enright scored an Army-Navy game-record 34 points as the Black Knights (12-10, 5-4 Patriot League) defeated the visiting Midshipmen (7-15, 3-6)

Tournaments at a glance Women America East Site: Chase Family Arena, West Hartford, Conn. When: Today through Saturday 2003 champion: Boston University 2004 favorite: Maine. The Black Bears (22-6, 17-1) dominated the league from start to finish, cruising to a five-game first-place cushion and coming close to running the table in league play with a 15-0 start It took Vermont's 76-66 upset of Maine Feb. 28 on the Black Bears' home court to prevent a perfect 18-0 record. Two seniors, 6-1 forward Heather Ernest and 5-9 guard Melissa Heon, led Maine.