Women's Lid Lifter
November 20, 2003 05:11 PM | General
November 20, 2003
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – When West Virginia University women’s basketball coach Mike Carey was making out his non-conference schedule last year he thought he was doing so with a full compliment of players.
 |
||
| Meg Bulger scored eight points in West Virginia's exhbition game against Turkey last Sunday. She will not dress for Friday's game against Bucknell due to an ankle injury. (All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks) |
He replaced teams like Mount St. Mary’s, Akron and Coppin State with an early season slate that includes East Carolina, Southwest Missouri State, James Madison, Georgia Tech and Northwestern.
“We stepped up our non-conference schedule. Knowing what I know now with all of our injuries I wish I wouldn’t have done that,” Carey joked.
West Virginia opens its regular season Friday night at the WVU Coliseum against Bucknell without key freshman guard Meg Bulger, who has been sidelined with an ankle injury. Carey is also without backup post player Latitia Williams who has been suspended from the team indefinitely.
Post players Michelle Carter, Ramika McGee and Yelena Leuchanka have been limited in practice with various ailments but should be available Friday night. That has forced Carey to wait for the injury report from the training staff before determining who his starting five will be.
“We’ll find out tomorrow who’s playing,” he admitted. “Right now Michelle Carter looks like she can play. Yelana practiced a little bit today so we’ll see if she gets any swelling and if she can go tomorrow we’ll play her some but not a lot. Meg Bulger will definitely be out tomorrow and probably Sunday. Hopefully we can get her back by Thanksgiving.”
Bulger, one of West Virginia’s most highly touted recruits who earned Parade All-America honors last year after leading Oakland Catholic High School to the Pennsylvania state championship, played in WVU’s exhibition game against Turkey scoring eight points on three of six shooting. But Bulger re-injured her ankle and has been on crutches this week.
Leuchanka’s eagerly anticipated debut was delayed when she had arthroscopic surgery on her right knee after the second day of practice. The 6-foot-5 center was the nation’s top junior college recruit last year after averaging 18.1 points and 12.8 rebounds at Wabash Valley Junior College.
Carey says Leuchanka’s minutes will be closely monitored Friday, “She went live today for about four or five minutes and then she had to come out. Hopefully tomorrow we can play her four or five minutes and get her out for three or four minutes and get her back in there. We’ll see how she responds,” he said.
Because West Virginia is extremely thin at the post that may force the third-year coach to alter his lineup and start a smaller group consisting of Yolanda Paige, Sherell Sowho, Kate Bulger, Janell Dunlap and Michelle Carter. Of those five, only 6-foot-2 Carter stands taller than 6 feet.
“Any team with height concerns me right now with us not having a lot of healthy post players,” said Carey. “We’re just going to have to do it. We’re going to have to block out and if we can rebound we can push it up the floor and make those big girls run.”
West Virginia is coming off a disappointing performance in its only exhibition game of the preseason against the Turkish National Team on Sunday, losing 70-66. Senior Kate Bulger led the Mountaineers with 11 points on four of 10 shooting.
“What was surprising to me was that we had good practices going into that exhibition game. Then we come out on Sunday and just stood around,” said Carey. “It wasn’t because of practice. For whatever reason -- I don’t know whether we were caught up in the Pitt game or what it was -- but we were caught up in something besides women’s basketball.”
In order for West Virginia to avoid another letdown, the Mountaineers are going to have to find a way to put the clamps on Bucknell senior forward Desire Almind, who averaged 15.4 points and 9.0 rebounds per game last year and is a preseason all-Patriot Conference pick this year.
“There will be times that we have a guard on her because she’s out on the perimeter a lot. But yet she’ll take the guard inside,” said Carey. “At times we’ll probably try to match her up with Janell Dunlap that was she can play out on the perimeter and in the post and be aggressive.”
Last year West Virginia outlasted the Bisons 77-72 in Lewisburg, Pa. Bulger led the Mountaineers with 28 points on 11 of 18 shooting.
Almind had 13 for Bucknell.
Friday’s game will tipoff at 7 pm and will be carried live by WAJR FM in Clarksburg. Fans can also listen to the Yahoo! Sports Internet broadcast through MSNsportsNET.com.
