No. 1 ODU hopes to stay above the fray

NORFOLK

March Madness descended on women's basketball long before the unveiling of the NCAA tournament bracket.

A sample of the wackiness from this week's conference tournaments: Colorado State, which went 3-27 overall and 0-16 in the Mountain West Conference, upset Utah (27-3, 16-0). The Utes came in having won 22 straight.

On the same night, unranked Texas rallied from 16 down to stun No. 9 Baylor 76-61; the Bears had been projected as a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament. Just two days earlier, unranked Missouri, winner of two Big 12 games, upended No. 11 Oklahoma. In the Big East tournament, Rutgers didn't survive the quarterfinals, falling to Louisville. In the Big Ten, top seed Ohio State was kicked out in the first round by No. 9 Illinois.

Which brings us to the Colonial Athletic Association and Old Dominion, whose results in the conference tournament have been as one-sided and predictable as you can get. The Lady Monarchs are 47-0 in tournament play and are seeking a 17th straight title.

As the No. 1 seed after a marquee year in which ODU (26-4) returned to the national rankings and climbed to No. 14, it's hard to believe this is the year for an upset.

But senior Megan Pym is quick to quote the philosophy ingrained in every player's head by coach Wendy Larry: "Everybody is after us."

"I'm looking forward to the NCAA tournament," said senior T.J. Jordan. "But first, we have to take care of some business in the CAA tournament."

That's the mentality that ODU, which opens quarterfinal action at 5 this afternoon, will bring to the Carpenter Center in Newark, Del.

While the quarterfinal might not end up being terribly challenging, a semifinal match-up with No. 4 Drexel could pose a stiffer test. When the teams played in Norfolk on Feb. 24, ODU routed the Dragons 66-51, but 3-point ace Narissa Suber never got hot. Drexel also boasts first-team All-CAA player Gabriela Marginean, who scored 20 against ODU.

Most predict James Madison, the second seed, as ODU's opponent in the final, with memories of the Dukes winning the last meeting between the teams in Harrisonburg two weeks ago still fresh.

One caveat: JMU might first have to get by Virginia Commonwealth in the semifinals. VCU swept JMU during the regular season, including the second meeting, when the Rams were without injured center Quanitra Hollingsworth.

She remains sidelined for the rest of the year. VCU is also likely highly motivated, with a first-ever berth in the WNIT still a possibility.

If ODU does meet the Dukes, the Lady Monarchs will surely have to improve on their lackluster rebounding effort in Harrisonburg, when JMU picked up 19 more boards. ODU also shot 29 percent in that game, tying its season low. That said, the Lady Monarchs were still within reach of a win with five minutes remaining.

Larry has spent the week "tweaking" plays, looking to prevent much of the madness that has invaded many of the other conference tournaments. But it's hard to bet against a team that has never lost in the CAA tournament.

Vicki L. Friedman, (757) 477-6874, VickiL120@cox.net