Women's Basketball: WVU Falls to No. 5 Connecticut
January 02, 2007 11:17 PM | General
January 2, 2007
BOX SCORE | PHOTO GALLERY
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University women’s basketball team could not hold onto an early lead as it lost to No. 5 Connecticut, 63-44, on Tuesday evening at the WVU Coliseum.
The Mountaineers (8-6/0-2 BIG EAST) jumped out to 14-13 lead on the Huskies (12-0/2-0 BIG EAST) with 11:30 to play in the first half on a 3-pointer by guard LaQuita Owens. WVU extended that lead to 19-15 over the next four minutes by playing pestering defense that forced 10 UConn turnovers in the first half.
But Connecticut imposed its will to close out the first half by going on a 25-5 run highlighted by six points from Renee Montgomery on a pair of 3-pointers, giving her team a 40-24 lead at the break.
The Mountaineers failed to gain momentum in the second half as UConn outscored them 23-20 in the period to come away with its 12th consecutive win to open the conference season. However, West Virginia held the Huskies to just 45.2 percent from the field in the game, more than five percent below their season average (50.6) and forced 25 turnovers in the game, 10 more than UConn’s season average (14.9)
Connecticut’s Charde Houston led all UConn scorers with 16 points, while teammate Tina Charles chipped in with 13 points and 12 boards for a double-double.
Owens dropped in 16 points for the Mountaineers as she connected on 4-7 from beyond the 3-point arc and a pair of two-point field goals. The four 3-pointers tied a season high for the junior. Center Yinka Sanni ended the game with 13 points and seven boards.
WVU returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 6, when it travels to Philadelphia, Pa., to face BIG EAST foe Villanova. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.
