March 7, 2002
NORFOLK, VA - CAA Player of the Year Lucienne Berthieu (Rennes, France) had a double-double with 12 points and 17 rebounds in her sixth double-double of the year to help top-seeded Old Dominion University (23-5) earn a 73-52 victory over ninth-seeded William & Mary in the quarterfinals of the 2002 ALLTEL CAA Women's Basketball Championship Thursday. The 10-time defending CAA champion Lady Monarchs won their 30th consecutive tournament game and will look to extend the string in the semifinals tomorrow against #5 George Mason University at 7:30 p.m.
ODU sophomore Monique Coker (Bronx, NY) led all scorers tying her career-high with 18 points, including 13 in the second half. She also added nine rebounds as ODU crushed W&M on the boards with a 54-34 rebounding edge.
"It's a good thing we can rebound because we certainly couldn't put the ball in the hole tonight," said ODU coach Wendy Larry. "The first game is so crucial," she continued. "When you sit that first night it takes its toll."
The Tribe was the early story, as it jumped out to a 15-9 lead over the heavily-favored Lady Monarchs. The six point defecit was the largest the Lady Monarchs had suffered in CAA competition the entire year. Things looked even more alarming for Old Dominion when first team All-CAA senior forward Hamchetou Maiga (Bamako, Mali) went to the bench with her second personal foul midway through the first half.
William & Mary (12-17), which led most of the first half, went ahead 24-21 with 3:36 left when junior guard Jen Sobota converted a three-point play off her steal for the upstart Tribe. Old Dominion responded with a 10-2 run to close out the half and went into the locker room with a 31-26 lead.
The Lady Monarchs opened the second half with a 16-2 run to build a 47-28 lead in the first eight minutes. The lead eventually grew to as many as 23 points in the closing minute of play. Second team All-CAA performer Okeisha Howard (Va Beach, VA) added 13 points for the Lady Monarchs who won their 16th consecutive ballgame.
Junior guard Jami Lange and Sobota led William & Mary with 14 points each. Lange also had team-highs of six rebounds and four assists.