Virginia Tech Preview
February 09, 2004 11:09 AM | General
February 9, 2004
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The time has arrived for the West Virginia women’s basketball team to prove it has arrived.
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| Forward Janell Dunlap will be a key player in West Virginia's attempt to stop Virginioa Tech's talented post players. (All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks) |
The Mountaineers (17-5, 8-2) take on No. 21-ranked Virginia Tech Tuesday night in a key Big East matchup for both teams.
West Virginia is in sole possession of second place behind Connecticut after Notre Dame lost at Seton Hall on Sunday. Virginia Tech, 17-4, 6-4, beat the Pirates by 24 in Blacksburg last Saturday and has had a week off to rest and prepare for WVU.
“They definitely concern me,” said West Virginia coach Mike Carey.
West Virginia, meanwhile, will be playing its third game in a span of six days. Last Saturday the Mountaineers completely shut down Syracuse, allowing the Orangewomen just 36 points in a 20-point win.
Virginia Tech will pose a much more difficult test for West Virginia Tuesday night. The Hokies have one of the nation’s top post players in 6-foot-4 senior center Ieva Kublina. The Riga, Latvia, native is averaging 14.1 points and 6.9 rebounds per game and poured in a game-high 23 points in the win against Seton Hall.
Kublina has had her way with West Virginia, too, scoring 18 each in regular season wins last year and 14 points in a 66-60 win over WVU in the first round of the Big East tournament.
Dawn Chris, a 6-foot-1 guard, averages 11 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. Chris is shooting a team-best 48.5 percent from the floor but has only tried two three-point shots.
Five-seven guard Carrie Mason from nearby Seneca Valley, Pa., is averaging 10.9 points and 2.9 assists per game. Six-two junior forward Erin Gibson is averaging 10 points and grabbing a team-best 7.7 rebounds per game.
Tech’s other starter is 6-foot-1 forward Kerri Gardin, who averages 6.6 points and 4.0 rebounds per game.
“Defensively we’re just going to do the best we can,” said Carey. “I don’t know yet how we will match up with them but we’ll decide that. It’s going to be tough; we need to stay out of foul trouble with our inside people because they’re big and strong.”
Virginia Tech doesn’t get many points from its bench but uses a three-player rotation of Kirby Copeland (3.2 ppg.), Fran Recchia (2.6 ppg.) and Britney Anderson (1.8 ppg.).
“They have the one post who is an All-American (Kublina) and the other post who has absolutely destroyed us (Gibson) and they have girls who can shoot the three,” said Carey. “They are a quality team.”
West Virginia gives up size at almost every position and will counter with a lineup that has one starter standing taller than six feet in 6-foot-2 center Michelle Carter.
The senior is averaging 8.3 points and 4.4 rebounds per game and will team inside with 5-foot-10 Janell Dunlap, who averages 6.0 points and 5.6 rebounds.
“Almost everyone we play is bigger than us,” said Carey.
The majority of West Virginia’s points comes from its back court trip of Sherell Sowho, Kate Bulger and Yolanda Paige.
Sowho is the team’s leading scorer averaging 14.4 points per game and is coming off a team-high 13-point effort last Saturday against Syracuse.
Bulger is scoring at a 14.2-points-per-game clip but is only shooting 38.4 percent from the floor. Most of Bulger’s shots have come from behind the three-point arc where she is making 36.6 percent of her three-point tries.
Junior guard Yolanda Paige has developed into one of the best point guards in the conference and averages 11.7 points to go with a conference-best 8.0 assists per game.
Paige has been racking up big minutes lately and Carey is concerned about her stamina down the stretch.
“She was a little bit tired (against Syracuse),” said Carey. “Her passes were a little bit lazy and her intensity wasn’t there.”
West Virginia is looking for its first victory against Virginia Tech since 1991; the Hokies have won six straight against WVU including all five since joining the Big East in 2001.
The last four games have been decided by 5, 7 12, and 6 points.
“I think we can play against Virginia Tech; I don’t think our girls will be in awe of them whatsoever,” said Carey. “We have a lot of confidence right now and Virginia Tech is playing well right now so it should be a heck of a basketball game.”
All four of Virginia Tech’s losses this year have come in conference play and three of those were on the road. The Hokies’ four Big East losses were to Rutgers, Notre Dame, Georgetown and Connecticut.
Helping West Virginia last Saturday night was a season-high turnout of 1,790.
“That was great,” said Carey. “I think that helped our young ladies and I think it got them fired up a little bit. The crowd got into the game in spurts when we played well and hopefully we can continue to have those types of crowds.”
Tuesday night’s game tips off at 7 pm.
MSN’s radio coverage begins at 6:50 with the pre-game show.
Fans can purchase tickets at the gate on the day of the game. Prices are $5 for adults and $3 for students. Groups of 10 can buy tickets for $2 each.
