BY STEVE DANIEL

Monarchs playing or coaching professional basketball jumped to seven this spring when Ticha Penicheiro '97 was selected second in the WNBA draft by the Sacramento Monarchs and Nyree Roberts '98 was tapped by the champion Houston Comets as the 20th overall pick.

Old Dominion's presence in the pros also includes a Hall of Famer making her coaching debut in the WNBA, while the rival American Basketball League will feature four Lady Monarch alumnae when its third season tips off in October: two players and two head coaches. The excitement surrounding women's professional basketball even prompted alumnus Raymond White '79, the city of Hampton's marketing and development manager, to establish the first Women's Collegiate World Games tournament last April at the Hampton Coliseum to showcase many of the country's top seniors for the leagues' scouts.

Indeed, it appears that the sport is here to stay. It remains to be seen, however, if both leagues can survive. The older ABL will feature 10 teams playing a 44-game schedule when its third season opens later this year. Last year, an average of 4,333 fans came to the games. The WNBA, which tipped off its second season in June, also has grown to 10 teams that play a 30-game schedule. Although free tickets helped boost the average attendance to 9,669 for its first season, the WNBA has clearly spent more money on promotion and advertising. The fact that the WNBA landed no fewer than seven Kodak All-Americans in this spring's draft has not been lost on the rival ABL. While the ABL pays generally higher salaries, the league has a far inferior TV contract. Several of the WNBA's top draft picks cited TV exposure as a factor in their decision to go with the younger league.

Maura McHugh '75, who will begin her second season this fall as coach of the ABL's Long Beach StingRays, doesn't foresee a merger happening anytime soon, but she acknowledges that having only one league is a possibility at some point. "I like playing during the traditional basketball season and I like the fact that we play a longer season. But it would also be nice to see all of the great players go head to head, night in and night out."

For now, Old Dominion's alumnae are just happy to be coaching and playing a game they love at the highest levels of the sport. It is certainly not something McHugh, who didn't even have an athletic scholarship until her senior year, could have envisioned during her playing days at the Field House.

Anne Donovan '83

When Anne Donovan blows the whistle at training camp for the Philadelphia Rage in September, she should have no trouble commanding the attention of her players. A 1995 inductee into the Basketball Hall of Fame, Donovan was a three-time Olympian who played on the United States' 1984 and 1988 gold medal teams. She was a three-time All-American at Old Dominion, where she played on the 1980 national championship team and won the Naismith Player of the Year award in 1983.

Donovan was announced in April as the new head coach for the Rage, replacing Lisa Boyer. She makes the move to the pros after three seasons as head coach at East Carolina University and six seasons as an assistant at her alma mater (1989-95).

"I have been fortunate to have worked with several of the Rage players through our mutual association with USA Basketball, and I am very eager to work with them again in Philadelphia, as well as the rest of the team," Donovan said.

In announcing her as coach, ABL co-founder and CEO Gary Cavalli said, "Anne Donovan is one of the legendary names in women's basketball," adding, "The basketball credentials she brings to the Rage are tremendous."

Donovan, who recently served as assistant coach of the U.S. Team that won the FIBA Women's World Basketball Championship, remains Old Dominion's career leader in scoring (2,719), rebounding (1,976) and blocked shots (801). Her 801 blocks still stands as the NCAA record.

Adrienne Goodson '89

Clarisse Machanguana '97

Culture shock is something Clarisse Machanguana has become accustomed to, and if the adjustments she made as a Lady Monarch are any indication, she should also have a successful career in the ABL.

The 6-5 Mozambique native, who was drafted in the first round last year by the San Jose Lasers, developed into a force for Old Dominion over her three-year career, helping lead the Lady Monarchs to the national championship game as a senior, when she averaged 19.9 points.

Machanguana would like nothing more than to have a starting role when the Lasers open their next season in November. "I work hard, so I expect to start," she said. "But if I don't, I'll just work harder."

Last year, San Jose used 11 different starting lineups en route to a 21-23 record. After Machanguana was placed in the starting rotation Jan. 17, she averaged 13.1 points and 6.9 rebounds over the final 14 games.

Overall, Machanguana rates her rookie-year performance as average. She is working during the off-season on her shooting and devoting more time to lifting weights and running to better prepare for the ABL's physical style of play.

Basketball is a job now for Machanguana, but she still enjoys playing the game. "It's almost like a reward for having played in college," she said. She no longer experiences the "emotional drain" of preparing for successful performances in the classroom and on the court. "At Old Dominion, I could be studying for a test and getting ready to play against Tennessee at the same time."

While it was basketball that enabled her to come to this country, it was the promise of a good education and bright future that interested her most. Machanguana eventually plans to go to law school. "That's the main reason I came over," said the former Dean's List student. "Basketball was secondary."

Maura McHugh '75

When the ABL expanded by one team last season, it was not expected that the new kid on the block would end up playing for the league championship. "I knew we had the potential to be good, but I didn't really know how good," said Maura McHugh, coach of the upstart Long Beach StingRays.

McHugh, who had worked as executive director of The Business Council for Alcohol Education in Phoenix since leaving college coaching in 1993, said she was intrigued by the pro game. "It was a chance to do something different - to work with high-calibre athletes in a league where basketball is the sole focus and I could spend more time actually coaching." The longer she coached at the college level she found herself spending more and more time on administrative duties. "I'm excited to be back. It's an exciting time for women's basketball," McHugh said.

While Long Beach was picked to finish last in the western division, the StingRays found themselves at season's end battling the Columbus Quest for the title, which the Quest had won the year before. After winning the first two games of the series at home, Long Beach dropped three straight in Columbus, losing 86-81 in the finale.

Because of the ABL's shuffling of personnel in an attempt to achieve parity, McHugh will have only four players back next season. She lost star Yolanda Griffith to the expansion team in Chicago, but acquired league MVP Natalie Williams from Portland. "We'll still be very good," she predicts.

McHugh broke into the Division I head coaching ranks in 1981 at Oklahoma, leading the Sooners to a 142-70 mark over seven seasons. She was named Big Eight and Converse Coach of the Year in 1986.

She moved on to Arizona State where she transformed a sub-par program into an NCAA Tournament participant. The Sun Devils ranked among the nation's top 20 teams in her final two seasons.

One of the country's first recipients of a women's basketball scholarship, McHugh started at forward all four years at Old Dominion and led the team in scoring her senior year. Nancy Lieberman-Cline '80 There are few things in basketball Nancy Lieberman-Cline hasn't conquered. A three-time All-American at Old Dominion, she led the Lady Monarchs to two national championships; was twice named the Wade Trophy and Broderick Cup winner; became, at age 18, the youngest basketball player to win an Olympic medal; competed professionally in four leagues; and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. In short, she is both legend and trailblazer.

And now, "Lady Magic" is heading into new territory as coach and general manager of the Detroit Shock, one of the WNBA's two new expansion teams. It was a difficult decision, especially since she had played just last year in a reserve role for the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury.

"I really wanted to play one more season. But I also knew that if a situation arose where I could do something like this, I would have to take it. I didn't want to be known as someone who was just hanging around."

Lieberman-Cline said that she hadn't thought of being a player-coach because of the commitment that is required to lead a team. "I have a lot to prove to people and a lot to prove to myself - first and foremost that I can do a good job at this. Sometimes, when you have been a player of recognition, a lot more is expected of you."

After being named coach and GM, Lieberman-Cline said organization would be her biggest challenge initially, from bringing in good players and assistant coaches (one of whom will be former Old Dominion men's coach Sonny Allen) to public relations professionals and administrative assistants.

"Because I also have the GM role, I am both sides - basketball and business," she said. "I'm fiscally responsible for this team as well as being responsible for winning games."

Nyree Roberts '98

Going from a starting - and starring - role with one of the nation's top collegiate teams to a a member of the supporting cast as a WNBA rookie will take some getting used to for Nyree Roberts, but she's thrilled to be playing professionally - and with the league's champion Houston Comets, no less. Roberts, who was the CAA Player of the Year as a senior at Old Dominion, led the conference in scoring (20.6), shooting .632 from the field, and hauled down an average 12 rebounds per game.

Still laden with talented players, the Comets roster includes League MVP Cynthia Cooper and marquee player Sheryl Swoopes, and Roberts has seen limited playing time thus far. In analyzing this year's draft, WNBA director of player personnel Renee Brown offered the following comments about the 6-3 Roberts: "She's an explosive post player, a banger. She's not going to back down from contact and can really finish her shots under pressure. Nyree's also a dominant rebounder - she'll go get the ball." Roberts was selected by the Comets in the second round and was the 20th pick overall in the WNBA draft. Six of the Comets' remaining regular-season games will be nationally televised: 7:30 p.m. July 8 at New York (ESPN), 9 p.m. July 17 at Los Angeles (Lifetime), 4 p.m. Aug. 1 vs.

Cleveland (NBC), 8 p.m. Aug. 7 at Detroit (Lifetime), 8 p.m. Aug. 10 vs. Charlotte (ESPN) and 4 p.m. Aug. 15 at New York (NBC).

Ticha Penicheiro '97

She's gone from Old Dominion Lady Monarch to Sacramento Monarch in the WNBA, a name that suits her just fine, but Ticha Penicheiro admitted during the preseason that she was having a little trouble getting used to the purple color of her new jersey.

And while she's also making adjustments to new teammates, coaches and a more aggressive style of play, she's confident she will be successful as a pro.

"You practice with more intensity," she said after her first few days of training camp. "There are morning and afternoon sessions, and sometimes practices last five hours. You get here at 9 in the morning and then scrimmage against the guys in the evening. It's very demanding, but it's your job, and you have to be determined to be the best worker you can be." Penicheiro said the success she had at Old Dominion is now history. "I have to prove myself all over again."

Not all that difficult a task, one might argue, for a two-time All-American and 1998 Wade Trophy winner, who ranked first in steals and third in assists in the NCAA her senior year. But Penicheiro's taking no chances. She shows up early for morning practice to get in some extra shooting, and she figures by the end of the second practice she will have taken close to 1,000 shots.

While basketball is now her job, the flashy Penicheiro still has every intention of keeping it fun. It is, after all, a game, and players and fans alike enjoy fast breaks that end with dazzling behind-the-back and no-look passes. Her coach, Heidi VanDerveer, has called Penicheiro "a highlight reel waiting to happen."

"My coach knows I like to have fun when I play, and she'll let me be creative - as long as I don't do anything stupid," Penicheiro said.

WNBA director of player personnel Renee Brown offers the following analysis of Penicheiro: "She thinks pass first, second and third, then if that's not there, then she thinks shoot." Brown added, "A lot of [teammates] are going to be buying her lunch this summer."

Although she had wanted to end up closer to Old Dominion, Penicheiro is happy with her new situation. "I like my teammates and my coaches, and it feels like I have a new family here."

In the off-season, Penicheiro said she will be working to promote the WNBA in Europe and playing on a club team.

Penicheiro's Monarchs will play on national television at 8:30 p.m. July 20 at Phoenix (ESPN) and 9 p.m. July 24 at home against New York (Lifetime).