WVU Battles Tech
March 07, 2003 09:41 AM | General
March 7, 2003
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Some subscribe to the theory that it’s difficult to beat a team three times in the same year. West Virginia University coach Mike Carey isn’t one of them.
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| West Virginia junior Kate Bulger is coming off a 25-point performance at No. 1 Connecticut on Tuesday. (All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks) |
His Mountaineer women’s team will try to avoid the dubious trifecta Saturday in the first round of the Big East tournament against Virginia Tech at Rutgers Athletic Center in Piscataway, N.J. The game will get underway at noon.
“It’s the same old thing, it comes down to rebounding, defense and putting your shots in the basket,” said Carey. “In both games Tech has hurt us on the boards with their two big girls inside, so hopefully we’ll do a better job on them. We’ve got them well scouted; we know what they’re going to do offensively and defensively so it’s just a matter of execution.”
West Virginia (15-12, 4-12) got into the tournament through the backdoor after Providence lost to Villanova Tuesday night.
| Carey Suspends Two,
Holbrook Quits Team MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia University women's basketball coach Mike Carey today announced the indefinite suspensions of junior forwards Michelle Carter and Ramika McGee for violation of team rules. Carey also announced that sophomore forward Liz Holbrook, an Oxford, Mich., native, has quit the team for personal reasons. Carter, a Little Rock, Ark., native, is third on the team with a 10.4 points-per-game average and ranks 11th in the league in rebounding with a 6.9 rebounds-per-game average. McGee, a Chattanooga, Tenn., native, is sitting out the 2002-03 season after suffering a torn ACL in her left knee. Holbrook is fifth on the team in scoring at
6.8 points-per-game and fourth in rebounding with 96. |
For West Virginia to advance, the Mountaineers are going to have to find a way to slow down 6-foot-4 Tech center Ieva Kublina. In two prior meetings this year, Kublina scored 18 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in Morgantown and followed that up with an 18-point, 9-rebound effort last weekend in Blacksburg.
“A lot of times we were in position but they were just lobbing the ball overtop to a 6-4 girl with a 5-11 girl on her,” said Carey. “It’s tough to defend at times and hopefully we’ll get some better weak side help.”
Six-two forward Erin Gibson was also tough for West Virginia to handle, scoring 12 points and grabbing 6 rebounds in Morgantown and adding 12 points and 7 rebounds in Tech’s second win.
“We want to try and get a little more ball pressure on the perimeter and even on their post players so they just can’t pick us apart inside,” said Carey. “We did try a little bit of a two-three at Virginia Tech and we’ve worked on that.”
The Hokies are 19-8 overall and are the fifth seed in the tournament. Tech is looking for a 20th victory to give it a better opportunity to lock up an NCAA tournament at-large selection.
With a couple of Big East tournament upsets, West Virginia could possibly play itself into an WNIT bid.
Junior Kate Bulger is one of two double-figure scorers for the Mountaineers headed to New Jersey, averaging 15.8 points per game. Bulger scored a game-high 25 points in WVU’s loss to No. 1-ranked Connecticut and is coming off a recent 36-point effort in a win against Syracuse.
West Virginia will be without the services of 6-2 junior center Michelle Carter, who was suspended indefintely for violating team rules.
Also, sophomore forward Liz Holbrook has quit the team for personal reasons.
The winner of Saturday’s first-round game will play No. 4-seeded Boston College on Sunday at noon.
MSN’s radio coverage will be switched to WVAQ-FM in Morgantown due to the WVU men’s game at 2 p.m. against Virginia Tech.
If West Virginia should win Saturday, Sunday’s game will go back to WAJR-AM. Yahoo! Sports will carry all of the games on the Internet through MSNsportsNET.com.
