Syracuse Preview
January 26, 2005 11:12 AM | General
January 26, 2005
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Two women’s teams looking to work their way up the Big East standings lock up tonight in Morgantown when West Virginia plays host to Syracuse.
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| Freshman center Olayinka Sanni has been playing well of late, scoring nine points and grabbing six rebounds in WVU's loss at Villanova on Sunday.
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks photo |
West Virginia and Syracuse both own 2-4 league records and are tied for eighth place, a game behind 3-3 Pitt and St. John’s in sixth. The Red Storm draw a tough assignment tonight traveling to Notre Dame while the Panthers must visit Connecticut, meaning the winner of tonight’s game is primed to gain some ground in the league race.
The Mountaineers (11-6, 2-4) are coming off two close road losses at nationally ranked Boston College last Thursday and at Villanova last Sunday. West Virginia dropped a 76-75 decision against the No. 14-rated Eagles when BC was awarded free throws with 0.2 seconds left to snap a 75-all tie. On Sunday, West Virginia was unable to hold on to an early 10-point lead against Villanova and lost 58-52.
Sophomore Meg Bulger has literally shouldered most of the scoring recently, pouring in 25 in the BC loss and scoring 30 in West Virginia’s last home game against Seton Hall, a 64-56 WVU win. The conference’s leading scorer is averaging 25.6 points over her last five games.
Bulger comes into tonight’s game averaging 21.2 points per game.
Senior guard Yolanda Paige continues to lead the country in assists with an average of 9.7 per game while also scoring at a 10.7-points-per-game clip. Senior guard Sherell Sowho averages 13.5 points per game.
The Mountaineers are also getting more effective play from two promising freshmen in 5-foot-10 forward Chakhia Cole and 6-foot-2 center Olayinka Sanni. Cole is the team’s top rebounder averaging 6.9 boards per game while Sanni has boosted her scoring average to 4.4 points per game and her rebounding average to 3.5 per game.
Sanni and Cole combined to score 17 points and grab 14 rebounds in the Villanova loss.
Meanwhile, Syracuse (10-7, 2-4) has dropped its last two games against Notre Dame and St. John’s after beginning .500 in league play. The Orange are looking to avoid losing three games in a row for the first time this season.
Syracuse’s conference victories so far this year have come at home against Providence and on the road at Pittsburgh.
Six-foot senior forward Chineze Nwagbo led Syracuse in its most recent loss at St. John’s, scoring 22 points and grabbing 12 rebounds to record her sixth double-double of the season. Nwagbo is the only Syracuse player averaging double figures at 12.2 points per game.
Syracuse is looking to match its entire conference win total of a year ago (3-13 Big East record) and secure its first victory in Morgantown since Feb. 3, 2001 when it downed the Mountaineers 93-54.
Tonight’s game will be televised live by the Mountaineer Sports Network on Charter 22 in Charleston and on a tape-delay basis by WVFX in Clarksburg.
Game time is set for 7 pm.
