Wright State Preview
December 03, 2003 12:42 PM | General
December 3, 2003
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – A rejuvenated West Virginia women’s basketball team takes to the road to face Wright State in a Thursday night non-conference contest at the Nutter Center.
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| Senior Sherell Sowho has gotten off to a fast start, averaging 18.2 points per game. (All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks) |
West Virginia (4-1) is coming off a solid showing at the Paradise Jam Tournament in the Virgin Islands, knocking off Georgia Tech and James Madison after losing the first day to Southwest Missouri State.
“I feel good about the girls who are playing,” said West Virginia coach Mike Carey. “We still don’t know who is going to be playing and who is not going to be playing. We’re in better shape physically than I’d thought we’d be playing three games in a row. We had some legs in the third game and that’s encouraging.”
West Virginia has gotten outstanding backcourt play from a pair of seniors in Sherell Sowho and Kate Bulger, and junior point guard Yolanda Paige.
“Our guard play has been excellent,” said Carey.
Sowho is making 56.9 percent of her field goal attempts and is averaging a team-best 18.2 points per game. The Bristol, Va., native has converted 15 of 29 three-point field goal attempts for 51.7 percent and has provided a second option on the perimeter to Bulger – the school’s 11th all-time leading scorer with 1,355 points entering Thursday night’s game.
“Teams overload on Kate and if we don’t have someone on the other wing shooting then it’s very easy to take Kate out of the game,” said Carey. “It’s very important that we have shooters on the opposite side of Kate.”
Sowho’s torrid shooting has freed up Bulger, who is averaging 18 points per game while shooting 48.7 percent from three-point distance. Bulger has made 19 three-pointers so far this year to rank second in the Big East behind St. John’s Kim MacMillan with 20.
Paige is averaging 12 points and 5.6 assists per game with a high of 15 points. Six-two forward Michelle Carter is also averaging double digits at 12 points per game. She is pulling down 5.2 rebounds per game. Five-eleven senior Janell Dunlap is West Virginia’s top rebounder averaging 6.2 per game and completes WVU’s starting lineup.
Carey is hoping to a more definitive answer on two key reserves nursing injuries. Six-five center Yelana Leuchanka has been hobbled by a persistent knee problem and may elect to have season ending surgery.
“She has a tear in her ACL and we’re going to still take a look at it and see if there is a possibility of her bracing it and playing with it or there is a possibility that we may need to go ahead and have the operation,” said Carey. “We’re going to take a week or so before that decision is made.”
Meg Bulger has also been hampered by an ankle problem that has limited her to just one game so far this season.
“We’re very small right now and we’re using people that are guards inside,” said Carey. “With that being said, we’re able to get up and down the floor a little better and we’re able to execute our offense. We’ve got to continue to work combinations and continue to see where we are going to use our guards and continue to work on our man-to-man and zone defenses.”
The coach did announce Tuesday that 6-foot-1 sophomore forward Latitia Williams has returned to the team after serving a three-week suspension for violating team rules. Williams will dress for Thursday’s game against Wright State.
The Raiders come into the West Virginia game with a 1-3 record, defeating Seton Hill in their opener before losing successive games to Ohio, Indiana State and Eastern Kentucky.
Last year West Virginia defeated Wright State, 71-53 in Morgantown.
“Wright State is very athletic,” said Carey. “They have some players back from last year who did a good job against us. They press a lot and their games are up and down the floor.”
Thursday’s game will be carried locally on WAJR-AM in Morgantown as well as on WVU’s student radio station U-92. Fans outside the Morgantown area can access the broadcast on the Internet through Yahoo! Sports.
Following Thursday night’s game, West Virginia has a short turnaround playing Robert Morris Saturday afternoon at the WVU Coliseum.
