Shakeva Richards, a 6-foot-1 power forward from Spalding High in Griffin, Ga., has committed to sign with the Old Dominion Lady Monarchs next week.

Richards’ commitment means the Lady Monarchs are expecting two November signees, the other being 6-3 center Brittany Campbell from Indianapolis.

Brittany Campbell, a 6-foot-3 center from Brebeuf Jesuit in Indianapolis, has committed to sign this fall with Old Dominion University. Campbell, who averaged 12 points and 6 rebounds as a junior, picked ODU over Morehead State. She intends to sign a national letter of intent with the Lady Monarchs on Nov. 11, the first day of the fall national signing period.

WASHINGTON There are two ways to look at Old Dominion's upcoming women's basketball season. In one respect, the Lady Monarchs are coming off their first Colonial Athletic Association season in 18 years that didn't end with a league title and an evening of awaiting word as to where they'd play in the NCAA tournament.

Tiffany Green is going international. The former Old Dominion basketball standout from Chesapeake headed to Israel on Thursday morning to embark on a pro career that she hopes will lead her to the WNBA next season.

The Old Dominion women's basketball team has made returning to the NCAA tournament a singular goal for the 2009-10 season. On Thursday, the school released a schedule that spells out just how difficult that task might be.

Sequestered like jurors, they hunkered down from morning until night, crunching RPI numbers, debating seeds and sites, fleshing out a bracket, line by painstaking line. At the end of that exercise last week, 16 Division I women's basketball coaches - Old Dominion's Wendy Larry among them - had a new appreciation for the complex task facing the NCAA tournament selection committee.

So much for easing into the season. The Old Dominion Lady Monarchs will open their 2009-10 campaign with a bang, playing 2009 NCAA tournament semifinalist Stanford on Nov. 13 at the Ted Constant Center.

NORFOLK Down the hall, in the practice gym, a basketball camp was in full swing. Over at the soccer stadium, more campers were kicking balls around. Across the parking lot, at the new tennis center, people with rackets slung over their shoulders were heading in to play.

Staff report Tara Owens, who won just six games in her two seasons as Norfolk State's women's basketball coach, is being reassigned, the school said Wednesday. Athletic director Marty Miller also announced that former Florida A&M and Winston-Salem State head coach Debra Clark will serve as the Spartans' interim head coach for next season.

Indian River's Shanel Williams, who helped the Braves win nearly 100 games during her varsity career, has signed with Miami. Williams, a 5-foot-7 guard, averaged 14.5 points and seven steals per game this past season as a senior. The Braves finished 25-2 and won the Southeastern District title.