Women Survive
January 22, 2003 07:04 PM | General
January 22, 2003
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Sherell Sowho scored 24 points to lead West Virginia to a 67-63 victory over Marshall Wednesday night in Charleston.
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| Yolanda Paige tries to take the ball from a Marshall player during Wednesday night's Toyota Capital Classic in Charleston. (All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks) |
Sowho scored 15 second-half points to help the Mountaineers snap a season-long four-game losing streak.
With the score tied at 26 at halftime, West Virginia regained the lead at 16:26 when Sowho stole the basketball at midcourt and went in for a driving layup to make it 32-30, West Virginia.
The Mountaineers went on an 18-7 over the next nine minutes to build it largest lead of the game at 50-37.
Marshall hung around primarily because it beat West Virginia to the boards all night. The Herd finished the game with 25 offensive rebounds.
Sikeetha Shepard-Hall led Marshall with a game-high 25 points.
West Virginia jumped out to an early 10-2 lead on a pair of threes by Sowho and layups by Kate Bulger and Yolanda Paige, but a scrappy Marshall team fought back and eventually tied it at 10.
West Virginia went on a cold spell that lasted nearly six minutes. That allowed Marshall to take an eight-point lead at 18-10. Sowho snapped the spell when she converted a three-point play under the basket to trim Marshall’s lead to five.
Marshall’s biggest lead of the first half was nine points after Shepard-Hall made two free throws to make it 22-13.
But West Virginia went on a 13-4 run over the remaining 6:19 to knot the score at the break, 26-26.
Kate Bulger added 10 for West Virginia.
The victory improves West Virginia’s record to 11-5 assures the Mountaineers' of their first undefeated record (11-0) against non-conference opposition in school history.
Marshall drops to 5-10.
West Virginia has won two straight against the Herd and leads the series with a 27-14 record.
WVU resumes Big East play on Saturday at Boston College for 7 p.m. contest.
