Women's Basketball: WVU to Face No. 8 Rutgers
January 29, 2005 02:28 PM | General
January 29, 2005
 |
||
| Bulger |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University women’s basketball team will face a stiff test Sunday afternoon when it takes on No. 8-rated Rutgers at the Louis Brown Athletic Center in Piscataway, N.J.
Rutgers is 14-4 overall and 5-1 in Big East play and has compiled an impressive list of victories so far this season. The Scarlet Knights show non-conference wins over Rider, South Dakota State, Oregon State, Kentucky, Princeton, Clemson, Tennessee, Texas and LSU, and league victories over St. John’s, Pitt, Georgetown, Providence and Boston College. Rutgers’ only loss in league play came at No. 10 Notre Dame.
The Knights boast a veteran lineup featuring three seniors and a pair of juniors. Six-foot-two junior forward Michelle Campbell leads the starters with an average of 12.3 points and 5.8 rebounds per game.
The bulk of the scoring, however, comes from a talented group of reserves that includes one of the top players in the Big East last year in 5-foot-9 senior guard Cappie Pondexter, who missed the team’s first eight games due to academic problems. Pondexter is averaging 11.3 points and 2.5 rebounds per game, while 5-foot-8 freshman guard Matee Ajavon is the top scorer on the team averaging 13.3 points per contest. The Big East rookie of the year candidate is also handing out 3.1 assists per game and is averaging 16 points over her last seven games.
Six-foot guard Essence Carson is averaging 7.2 points per game coming off the bench. Interestingly, Rutgers’ reserves average more points per game than its starters (40.6 to 33.1).
The last time these two teams met last year in the Big East tournament semifinals in Hartford, Conn., Rutgers came away with a 61-51 victory. Rutgers also claimed the last meeting in the RAC in 2003, beating WVU 65-50.
West Virginia (12-6, 3-4) is coming off an impressive 81-50 home win against Syracuse on Wednesday night with senior Sherell Sowho and freshman Chakhia Cole combining for 39 points. The Mountaineers’ top scorer Meg Bulger managed just nine points – 11 below her season average of 20.4 points per game. The Pittsburgh native is the conference’s top scorer.
Sowho is averaging 13.2 points per game while senior point guard Yolanda Paige is averaging 11.5 points and a national-best 9.6 assists per game.
Rutgers holds a 34-8 all-time record in series play.
Sunday’s game will tip off at noon and will be televised live by Big East Television. Fans in West Virginia can watch the game live on Fox Sports Pittsburgh.
