Women Cruise
January 24, 2007 07:36 PM | General
January 24, 2007
BOX SCORE | PHOTO GALLERY
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Chakhia Cole had a game-high 20 points and collected 11 rebounds to lead West Virginia to an easy 76-54 victory over the Marshall Thundering Herd Wednesday evening in the Chesapeake Energy Capital Classic at the Charleston Civic Center.
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| Chakhia Cole scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to help West Virginia to a 76-54 victory over Marshall in the 2007 Chesapeake Energy Capital Classic in Charleston.
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks |
The Mountaineers were in control early and never looked back, racing out to a 12-4 lead on Sparkle Davis’ second 3-pointer of the game with 16:48 to play in the first half. Marshall pulled to within five at 14-9 on a Meg Withrow 3 before the Mountaineers used a 10-0 run capped by a Chakhia Cole jumper to give West Virginia a 24-9 lead with 9:28 left to play in the first period.
The Mountaineers led 41-27 at the break due in large part to their stifling defense and the steady offensive play of Davis and Cole. In the first half the Mountaineers forced 11 Marshall turnovers, scoring 16 points off of them. Davis had 13 points at the break including three 3-pointers while Cole pitched in 12.
With West Virginia leading 46-29 after a Cole 3 with 18:33 left, Marshall Coach Royce Chadwick went to his bench, substituting four of his starters. That move ignited an 11-2 Herd run capped by an Alyssa Handy jumper to cut the deficit to 48-40 with 14:53 to play.
That was as close as Marshall (12-8, 5-2) could get. On the following possession, Cole converted a three-point play on a driving lay up. That started a 14-5 run over the next five minutes, culminating with a Lateefa Joye jumper that gave the Mountaineers a comfortable 62-45 margin with just 9:48 left. West Virginia enjoyed its largest lead of the game after a Joye lay up made the score 76-52 with 1:56 left.
For the game, the Mountaineers shot 46 percent from the field while holding the Herd to just 35 percent. The game was decided by turnovers as the stingy West Virginia defense forced 20 Marshall miscues, turning them into 20 points at the other end. The Mountaineers also held a 42-28 rebounding advantage.
The double-double for Cole was the seventh of her West Virginia career. Davis added 16 points, including four 3-pointers. Olayinka Sanni and LaQuita Owens also reached double figures, pitching in 12 and 10 points respectively.
Withrow was Marshall’s only consistent offensive threat, pacing the Herd with 15 points. Marshall’s leading scorer coming into the game, Modupe Ishola, was held to just six points on 2-5 shooting from the floor.
West Virginia (13-7, 4-3) has now won two straight over Marshall and four out of the last five. The Mountaineers have won five games in a row for the first time since the 2003-2004 season when they reeled off eight consecutive victories.
West Virginia now heads to the nation’s capital to battle Big East foe Georgetown on Saturday afternoon. Tip-off from McDonough Arena is set for 3 p.m.
