Women Hit the Road
January 14, 2003 03:17 PM | General
January 14, 2003
PROVIDENCE – Despite starting the season 10-0, the West Virginia women’s basketball team is digging itself a hole.
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| Forward Liz Holbrook is listed as questionable for Wednesday's game at Providence with a high right ankle sprain. (All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks) |
The Mountaineers have dropped two straight Big East home contests to nationally ranked Notre Dame and Villanova, and are looking to avoid going 0-3 in conference play for the first time since 2000.
“Even though we were at home, we started off with the No. 2 and No. 3 preseason ranked teams in the league and we had our chances to win,” said West Virginia coach Mike Carey. “Hopefully we’ll learn to win those types of games down the stretch.”
West Virginia is facing a Providence team that is coming off an 80-77 upset win at Pittsburgh last Saturday. Sophomore guard Michal Esptein scored 25 points, grabbed seven rebounds, and handed out five assists to lead the Lady Friars. Junior guard Kristen Quinn sank two free throws with less than 10 seconds left to seal the win for Providence.
Epstein leads the Lady Friars with a scoring average of 16.2 points per game. The 5-foot-10 guard is making 47.2 percent of her field goal attempts. Five-eleven guard Brooke Freeburg is the only other prominent scorer for Providence, averaging 9.8 points per game.
“Their guards are good and their inside people are returning,” said Carey. “They’ll play a little bit of a one-three-one trap and some half-court man. They’re playing pretty well right now. They’re hustling, getting after the ball, and it’s going to be a tough game on their home court.”
Providence is now 6-7 under first-year coach Susan Yow, who took over the Lady Friars job last summer after a four-year coaching stint at UNC Wilmington. Yow has also coached at Kansas State, Drake and East Tennessee State during a 19-year coaching career that has produced a 228-303 record heading into Wednesday’s game with West Virginia.
Mountaineer guard Kate Bulger is looking to bounce back after a sub-par performance against Villanova. The junior scored just two points to drop her season average to 16.8 points per game. Backcourt mate Sherell Sowho is also looking to regain her shooting form. In her last two games, the 5-8 junior has made just three-of-15 field goal attempts for six points.
“She needs to start stepping up and becoming a scoring threat once again,” said Carey of his second-leading scorer averaging 12.9 points per game.
The Mountaineers may once again have the services of blossoming 6-2 sophomore forward Liz Holbrook. The Oxford, Mich., native was sidelined midway through the Notre Dame game with a high right ankle sprain and missed the Villanova contest.
Holbrook scored 15 against Notre Dame before going down, and is averaging 10.8 points and 6.1 rebounds per game coming off the bench.
“It will be a game-time decision,” said Carey. “She practiced a little bit yesterday but was very tentative on her ankle. I think a little bit of it is now in her head in that she doesn’t know whether she can come down hard on it or make a quick cut.”
Junior Michelle Carter stepped up in Holbrook’s absence against Villanova to score a season-high 21 points and grab 10 rebounds. Carter is now averaging 12.2 points and 7.7 rebounds per game.
“I thought she was very aggressive against Villanova,” said Carey. “She had one-on-one match ups inside because they were extending out on our guards so much and she was just able to produce. I think that will give our guards a lot of confidence that they can go to Michelle and she can give us some scoring in the paint.”
West Virginia has won seven of nine meetings against Providence including the last two. Both of Providence’s victories have come at home.
Wednesday’s game will get underway at 7:30 p.m. MSN’s Internet coverage begins at 7:20 p.m.
