|
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
NORFOLK, Va. (AP) -- Lucienne Berthieu's 16 minutes of action in
her first game back was more than enough time to help ruin
Wisconsin-Green Bay's chance at an upset.
Berthieu came off the bench to score 19 points in support of
Hamchetou Maiga's 24 as fourth-seeded Old Dominion (28-4) beat the
13th-seeded Phoenix 94-85 Saturday in the NCAA Midwest Regional's
first round.
Nine of Berthieu's points came during a 13-3 run that broke a
67-67 tie and gave the Lady Monarchs (No. 13 ESPN/USA Today, No. 14 AP) an 80-70 lead with 4:25 to go. The Phoenix (21-9) got no closer than seven after that.
"I was very excited to be able to come back after so long. It
felt like it had been a year," said Berthieu, who sprained her
right shoulder two minutes into the Lady Monarchs' game against
William & Mary on Feb. 18. "I was feeling great. I was more
confident in the second half. My team gave me that confidence."
Natalie Diaz, who scored 17 for Old Dominion, was grateful for
her teammate's return. "A lot of the offensive boards she pulled
down were shots that I missed," Diaz said.
The Phoenix's Chandra Johnson said she knew she had to play her
best against Berthieu.
"It was very frustrating. One of my goals was to not get into
foul trouble," said Johnson, whose brief exit after her fourth
foul came just before Old Dominion's momentum-changing 13-3 run.
Wisconsin-Green Bay coach Kevin Borseth said the Lady Monarchs'
athleticism gave them a 37-18 rebounding edge.
"You're outsized and out-strengthed," Borseth said.
Wisconsin-Green Bay fell behind 8-0 but rallied for a 16-15 lead
with 13 minutes left in the first half. The Lady Monarchs went on a
14-4 run near the end of the half to lead 43-36 at the break.
Old Dominion's lead ballooned to 57-46 with 15:39 left in the
second half, but the Phoenix fought back to tie it 67-67 with 9:37
to go.
"We didn't take care of the ball as much as we would have
liked," Old Dominion coach Wendy Larry said. Her team had 21
turnovers.
Alli Spence added 14 points for Old Dominion and had 10 assists.
Maiga had seven rebounds.
Trisha Ebel led the Phoenix with 19 points. Johnson added 18 and
Stacy Krueger had 13.
Old Dominion will face 12th-seeded Southern Methodist on Monday
for a spot in the Sweet 16. SMU upset the fifth seed, No. 22 North
Carolina State, 64-63 in Saturday's first game.
| |
ALSO SEE
Womens College Basketball Scoreboard
Wisconsin Green Bay NCAA Team Report
Old Dominion NCAA Team Report
|