Women's Basketball: WVU To Battle St. Francis
December 06, 2004 03:51 PM | General
December 6, 2004
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – One of West Virginia’s own returns to the Coliseum when the Mountaineers play host to St. Francis, Pa., Tuesday night.
St. Francis coach Jill Poe, a West Virginia graduate and a one-time student assistant coach for Kittie Blakemore, brings a 2-2 St. Francis club into Morgantown for a non-conference matchup.
The Red Flash (2-2) began the season 0-2 with losses to Vanderbilt and Howard before winning consecutive games against Bucknell and Central Connecticut State.
Six-foot-two senior center Beth Swink has been on a tear lately, averaging 25.7 points over her last three games. She comes into the West Virginia game averaging 20.3 points and 9.3 rebounds per game.
Swink is the only St. Francis starter averaging double figures. Also expected to start Tuesday night are 5-foot-11 guard Sarah Bolten, 5-foot-9 guard Amber Hein, 5-foot-11 forward Christin Black and 6-foot-1 forward Regina Schlichter.
Hein is averaging 7.5 points and 2.8 rebounds per game.
Last year Poe led the Red Flashes to 25 victories and the Northeast regular season and post-season titles. St. Francis went a perfect 18-0 in conference play for only the second time in league history.
The Mountaineers (6-0) are coming off a 75-54 victory over Duquesne Saturday night. Sophomore Meg Bulger fired in a season-high 30 points and leads the Big East with an average of 20 points per game.
Senior guard Sherell Sowho is averaging 15.3 points per game, while senior guard Yolanda Paige is averaging 10.3 points and 11.8 assists per game.
St. Francis last beat a Big East team in 1997 when it downed Pitt, 65-63. This is the first meeting between West Virginia and St. Francis in women’s basketball.
Game time is 7 pm.
