Georgetown Preview
January 28, 2004 11:03 AM | General
January 28, 2004
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University women’s basketball team is proving that it doesn’t need Kate Bulger to play well to win basketball games anymore.
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| Senior Kate Bulger will be making her 102nd consecutive start Wednesday night against Georgetown. (All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks) |
In the past if Bulger was off her game the Mountaineers were done. That’s not the case anymore. In West Virginia’s last two road wins at St. John’s and at Syracuse, Bulger managed to shoot a combined 3 of 18 and scored a total of 10 points.
West Virginia defeated St. John’s, 69-67 and Syracuse, 67-53.
“It’s a great thing because everyone is stepping up and it feels good that when I do shoot 1 for 7 that we have Meg (Bulger) scoring 18 and Yolanda (Paige) scoring 13,” said Kate. “It seems like everyone is stepping up and is finally playing their best basketball right now. That’s what we need going down the line because you can’t have the same person scoring the points every night.”
Bulger admits she feels less pressure to make shots now, “I feel like if I do have an off shooting night I can make up for it on defense or rebounding and someone else can do the scoring,” she said.
Though the Mountaineers have been able to come up with some more weapons, it would be nice if Bulger has her shooting touch tonight against a dangerous Georgetown team that has already knocked off No. 19 Virginia Tech, Notre Dame and led Connecticut at the half.
Georgetown is 9-8 overall and owns a 3-4 mark in Big East play. The Hoyas also show a conference victory over St. John’s and losses to Seton Hall, Connecticut, Miami and most recently, Rutgers.
“Georgetown is a great team, they’re physical and they probably have the best post player in the Big East in Becky Brunson. So we’re going to have our hands full,” said Bulger.
Six-three forward Rebekkah Brunson is averaging 17.8 points and 11.4 rebounds per game. Brunson has played particularly well against top competition, scoring 19 against Rutgers, producing 23 in a win against Virginia Tech and scoring 20 and grabbing 10 rebounds in a three-point win over Notre Dame.
“She’s just a beast in the paint,” said Bulger. “Her rebounding ability is unbelievable; she finishes and she can take you off the dribble. She is just a great all-around player.”
Giving Brunson support in the Georgetown lineup is 5-foot-9 junior guard Mary Lisicky and 5-foot-11 junior guard Bethany LeSueur. Lisicky scored 16 in the loss to Rutgers and averages 12.7 points per game. LeSueur is averaging 9.5 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.
Georgetown coach Patrick Knapp is also expected to start 6-foot-3 forward Varda Tamoulianis and 5-foot-10 sophomore guard Carmen Bruce, a Pittsburgh native and daughter of former Pitt Panther standout Kirk Bruce.
Carmen Bruce scored 12 against Rutgers and is averaging 7.9 points per game while Tamoulianis is averaging 6.5 points and 5.1 rebounds per game.
“They’re very physical and very aggressive; we have to match their aggressiveness and intensity,” said Bulger.
West Virginia (13-5, 4-2) is looking to improve its conference standing and add to its four-game winning streak against the Hoyas. The Mountaineers are coming off a 14-point road win at Syracuse that saw freshman Meg Bulger score a career-high 18 points and grab 10 rebounds for her first career double-double.
“She is probably her most comfortable and most confident and she is just getting better every game,” said Kate of younger sister Meg’s play. “Every time I read the paper it says ‘career high’ for her.”
Sherell Sowho added 14 and Yolanda Paige contributed 13 points and handed out 9 assists against Syracuse. Paige is averaging 9.3 assists over her last 11 games.
“Yolanda is playing great right now,” said Bulger.
Six-two senior Michelle Carter (8.5 ppg. and 4.3 rpg.) and 5-foot-11 senior Janell Dunlap (6.4 ppg. and 5.8 rpg.) are also expected to start up front for the Mountaineers.
West Virginia has had trouble with Georgetown in the past, dropping four of its last five to the Hoyas. WVU’s last win against Georgetown came at the Coliseum in 2002 in overtime. Georgetown holds a 9-3 overall series record against the Mountaineers.
Tonight’s game will get underway at 7 pm. Yahoo! Sports live Internet coverage will begin at 6:50 pm.
