It had been 12 years since an Old Dominion women's basketball team had won a national title, but the Lady Monarchs were back at the Final Four with a vengeance this past March in Cincinnati, their sights set on returning home with a fourth championship banner.

After beating Stanford in a thrilling come-from-behind effort, they advanced to the title game against defending champion Tennessee, a team they had beaten at home earlier in the season. But it just wasn't to be.

Although Old Dominion lost a heart-breaker to the Lady Vols, 68-59, the 1996-97 edition of the Lady Monarchs convincingly won the support of old and new fans alike. With a never-say-die, up-tempo brand of basketball, led by the flashy play of All-America point guard Ticha Penicheiro (above), the team posted a 34-2 record and was ranked No. 2 nationally for the last three and a half months of the season. They didn't get the storybook ending they had hoped for, but the Lady Monarchs did have a year most teams only dream about. While the record books will show that Tennessee won the NCAA women's crown in 1997, the Lady Monarchs returned to Norfolk as champions in the hearts and minds of their fans . . . and with plans to make another run for it in '98. With the return of Penicheiro for one more season, and coach Wendy Larry '77 at the helm, don't be surprised if the Lady Monarchs set out again at top speed on the road to the Final Four.