Women's Basketball: WVU Battles DePaul Tonight
January 31, 2006 01:47 PM | General
January 31, 2006
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MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – It’s not a good time for West Virginia to be without its leading scorer Meg Bulger. The Mountaineers (11-7, 3-4) take on No. 11-rated DePaul at the WVU Coliseum Tuesday night and then travel to Storrs to face No. 5 Connecticut on Saturday.
Bulger injured her left knee in the second half of Sunday’s loss to St. John’s and it is feared that she may be lost for an extended period of time. Official word from West Virginia’s medical staff will come on Wednesday after reviewing results of Monday’s MRI.
The junior guard was third in the Big East in scoring averaging 19.8 points per game. She was leading the nation with 3-point field goals made with 63. Expected to take Bulger’s place in the WVU lineup is 5-foot-9-inch sophomore LaQuita Owens, who scored 6 points in West Virginia’s loss to St. John’s and is averaging 4.4 points per game in 13.9 minutes of action. Owens scored a career-high 14 points in a win against Georgetown earlier this season.
The bulk of the scoring will have to be picked up sophomores Olayinka Sanni and Chakhia Cole. Sanni is averaging 13.5 points and 4.6 rebounds per game while Cole is averaging 10.6 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. Five-seven junior guard Britney Davis-White owns an 8.9-points-per-game average and has made 22 3-point baskets, second only to Bulger.
Tonight, WVU is taking on an 18-3 DePaul team that is coming off an 84-75 loss at home to Connecticut last Saturday. The loss snapped DePaul’s 33-game home winning streak and dropped the Blue Demons to 5-3 in conference play.
Six-two senior center Khara Smith is one of the country’s top post players, averaging 18.1 points and 11.0 rebounds per game. Smith has recorded 14 double-doubles this season and is shooting 60.9 percent from the floor.
Five-eleven sophomore guard Allie Quigley has also been an effective scorer, averaging 16 points per game and has scored more than 20 six times so far this year. Six-foot forward Jenna Rubino is averaging 13.9 points and 5.0 rebounds per game.
DePaul and West Virginia have met one other time on the hardwood in 1981 when the Blue Demons claimed an 86-79 victory.
Tip off is set for 7 pm.
