Sanni's On
January 13, 2007 05:41 PM | General
January 13, 2007
BOX SCORE | PHOTO GALLERY
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Olayinka Sanni led all scorers with 26 points and collected a career-high 13 rebounds and Chakhia Cole added 14 points to lead West Virginia to a 69-57 victory over Providence College Saturday afternoon at the WVU Coliseum.
 |
||
| Yinka Sanni scored a game-high 26 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead West Virginia over Providence on Saturday.
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks |
The Mountaineers came out focused from the opening tip. With the game tied at 4-4 less than four minutes into the contest, West Virginia took off on a 19-0 run over the next eight minutes of play, capped by a Lateefah Joye lay up that made the score 23-4 in favor of the Gold and Blue with 8:23 left in the first half.
During the Mountaineer run it was obvious that the Friars had no answer for Sanni in the post. Sanni scored 10 of West Virginia’s 19 points in that stretch converting a series of close lay ups and drawing four Friar fouls. Sanni also stayed away from the foul trouble that has plagued her for much of the season. The Chicago Heights, Ill. native didn’t commit a foul until there was less than three minutes to go in the first half.
“They were really effective against our zone in terms of how they got the ball inside to Sanni,” second-year Providence coach Phil Seymore said. “We didn’t come out and play aggressively the way we needed to. We played a little scared.”
While West Virginia was scoring efficiently at one end, they continued to play a smothering brand of defense that has been their trademark for much of the year. The Mountaineers held the Friars scoreless for over eight minutes in the middle of the first half. The Gold and Blue enjoyed their largest lead of the game after a Sanni lay up made the score 39-14 with 2:30 to go in the first half.
West Virginia led 41-22 at halftime. The Mountaineers shot a sizzling 53 percent in the first half, converting on 17 of their 32 attempts from the field. Providence was held to just 34 percent shooting in the first half including an ice-cold 3 of 11 from three-point range.
The second half was anything but easy for the Mountaineers. The Friars ran their offense more crisply and began to penetrate the West Virginia defense and kick the ball out for open 3s. The Mountaineers led 46-24 on a Sanni lay up with 17:26 to go in the game. Over the next seven minutes Providence went on a 22-3 run capped by a Chelsea Marandola lay up to that cut the Friar deficit to three at 49-46 with 10:40 left to play. At the other end the Friars were double and triple teaming Sanni in an attempt to make the West Virginia shooters beat them.
“In the second half we got LaQuita in foul trouble, Sparkle sprained her ankle and we really didn’t have another shooter,” West Virginia coach Mike Carey said. “That allowed them to sag down in and start double and triple teaming Yinka.”
With the possibility of a colossal collapse staring them in the face, West Virginia did not panic. Joye converted a pair of free throws on the Mountaineers’ next possession and Cole scored four straight points to give West Virginia a more comfortable 55-46 lead with 8:55 left in the game. The Friars got no closer than six points the rest of the way.
“I’m trying more with this team to not panic in tight situations,” Carey said. “Some teams pick it up if the coach panics and comes at them. This team gets scared to make a mistake if I come at them like that so I am trying to just relax. It’s hard. I’ll probably get an ulcer from it but you do whatever it takes to win.”
For the game, the Mountaineers shot 46 percent from the field. West Virginia made 14 of their 19 free throws in the second half to hold the Friars at bay. Providence was held to just 38 percent from the field and made just 6 of their 25 three-point attempts.
“We are getting better,” Carey said. “I feel a lot better about this team than I did two weeks ago. I see Yinka playing better. I see Chakhia Cole scoring like she has in the past. Our point guards are doing a little better, we are defending a little better and we’re changing up defenses more than we have in the past. We will continue to improve and we need to continue to improve.”
Sanni got her fifth double-double of the season and the eighth of her Mountaineer career. Joye came off the bench to pitch in a career-high 11 points for the Gold and Blue.
Providence (12-5, 2-2) received 28 points off the bench, including a team-high 18 from Kendria Holmes. Shauna Snyder and Marandola each chipped in 10 points for the Friars.
West Virginia (10-7, 2-3) returns to action on Tuesday, Jan. 16, when they host the Seton Hall Pirates. Tip-off from the WVU Coliseum is set for 7 p.m.
