Editor’s note: As we wait for the sports world to return, we’re occasionally looking back at some of our favorite Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press stories. This story ran in The Pilot in January, 1997 – a few months before Old Dominion reached the NCAA women’s basketball national championship game, falling 68-59 to Tennessee. To catch up on stories in this series, visit pilotonline.com or dailypress.com and search “Our Greatest Hits.”
— Jami Frankenberry, sports editor
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Abracadabra.
Watch the bouncing basketball. Watch it very closely. Because when Lady Magician Ticha Penicheiro is dribbling, maybe you see where it’s going, maybe you don’t.
The no-look pass is her trademark, but other fancy stuff is in her repertoire. The behind-the-back bounce. The over-the-shoulder dish. A couple of nights ago, she picked up an assist by firing a no-looker directly into Nyree Roberts’ hands as Roberts was in mid-spin under the basket.
“I think the stuff I do is natural,” says Penicheiro, an Old Dominion senior. “But sometimes I watch a tape and say, `How did I do that?’ I’ll ask Nyree or Clarisse (Machanguana). They say, `You have eyes in the back of your head.’ ”
A year ago, her bag of tricks often disappeared in the Lady Monarchs’ most crucial games: at Stanford, at Tennessee and at Virginia, their only losses. But this year, the bigger the game, the better Penicheiro looks.
And if ODU beats defending national champion Tennessee tonight, it will be largely because the flashy point guard has elevated her play to another level.
Her unmistakable flair, a dramatic combination of entertainment value and basketball productivity, makes her a fan favorite at home and on the road.
“I thinks what she does is great for women’s basketball and especially for us,” said senior guard Stacy Himes. “What she does rubs off on everyone.”
Before enrolling at ODU as a sophomore, Penicheiro was no stranger to big games. The kid who shunned dolls for hoops grew up playing club ball in her native Figueira da Foz, Portugal, and at 14 she was the starting point guard on the national team.
“I’d come home from school, eat, and instead of doing homework, I’d go straight to the playground and stay there until the moon replaced the sun,” says Penicheiro, who is sporting bangs this season. “I’d stay there until my mom would come out and say, `C’mon, the food is on the table. You’ve got to come home.’ ”
Penicheiro was a natural at the point, with tremendous ball-handling ability and an instinctive vision “that exceeds many human beings,” ODU coach Wendy Larry says.
Penicheiro played in so many games back then, some against the best teams in Europe, that coming to ODU and facing ranked opponents didn’t faze her, at least not consciously. But a year ago, as well as she played against Texas, Georgia, Colorado and the CAA, Penicheiro never found her rhythm against bigger guns Tennessee, Stanford and Virginia. In those three games she went 9 of 29 from the field for 21 points as ODU’s attack sputtered. The team shot barely 40 percent in its losses; in the 29 wins, ODU’s shooting percentage was above 50.
“The pressure factor had a lot to do with it because a lot of teams in our conference play zone and the pressure’s not that good,” Penicheiro says. “And the other teams we played – Tennessee, Stanford, Virginia – they were aware that if they took my game away, they had a good chance to win because I was the point guard.”
And while her international experience was a bonus, she wasn’t as comfortable with the brand of defense a top college team could deliver. Plus, Larry adds, Penicheiro missed a year of eligibility and was still learning the ODU system.
“It had to become instinct and something you don’t think about,” Larry says.
Twelve games into this season, it is clear her instincts have taken over. Her statistics are only part of the package, even as she has learned to shoot more often and become a scoring threat.
She’s averaging 11 points, 7.8 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 4.7 steals. But watch Penicheiro against giants like Stanford, Vanderbilt and North Carolina State and you’ll see why Nancy Lieberman-Cline calls her “the best guard in the country.” Penicheiro can take over a game, control tempo, lift her teammates, ignite a crowd and deliver the knockout punch. When her game is on, opposing coaches will often call timeout just to recover from the psychological effect of her performance.
“Probably her most magnificent game was N.C. State,” Larry says. “She took her game to a completely different level. Ticha was an All-American in every statistical category.”
In that game, Penicheiro had 15 points, nine rebounds, eight assists and eight steals as now-No. 11 N.C. State handed ODU its only loss so far, 65-62.
“Stanford is another game that sticks out in my mind, her performance being of an All-American nature. She was unselfish with the ball and yet there were times that she finished at the rim.”
The tournament MVP of this year’s Central Fidelity tournament, Penicheiro also received national Player of the Week honors from Philadelphia Online following ODU’s victory over Stanford. In that game, she had 16 points, 10 assists and two steals, and she kept fellow All-American candidate Kate Starbird in check.
Penicheiro admits to having more confidence in the bigger games, and that stems from feeling more comfortable in her role. Initially, she was bowled over by the amount of plays she was expected to learn.
“Back home we don’t have all these plays. Here we have like 40 plays,” she says. “When I got here I was like, `What? We have a play for fastbreak?’ Back home it’s like, `Ticha, get the ball and go.’ ”
As captain, Penicheiro has become more aware of her leadership responsibilities.
“I play every game like it’s my last,” she says. “I’ve become mentally tougher – not just me, the team.”
Her mechanics are so solid that even the sleight-of-hand assists have been near-perfect. Penicheiro’s average of 3.4 turnovers is the lowest of any starter except Himes. She has more than twice as many assists as turnovers.
And Penicheiro acknowledges that the trickery, next to winning, is the part of the game she relishes.
“It’s a natural thing I enjoy doing; it’s in my blood,” she says. “I think it’s beautiful. I’d rather do a behind-the-back than just throw a bounce pass or something.”
