Women's Basketball: WVU to Host Cincinnati
February 23, 2007 06:47 PM | General
February 23, 2007
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University women’s basketball team will look to continue its late season surge when it plays host to the Cincinnati Bearcats on Saturday afternoon at the WVU Coliseum. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m.
West Virginia (18-9, 9-5) has won 10 of its last 12 games. The Mountaineers are coming off an impressive 57-46 win at Pitt on Tuesday night, a victory that catapulted them into a fifth-place tie with Louisville in the Big East Conference standings.
With the win, the Mountaineers assured themselves of a winning Big East regular season record for the second time under head coach Mike Carey; the last time West Virginia finished 10-6 and made the NCAA tournament in 2004.
West Virginia, who could still finish as high as tied for second with Rutgers in the Big East standings, improved its RPI to 48th with the win at Pitt.
“We are playing with a lot of confidence right now. We are going down the stretch and our players know that every game is important from here on out,” Carey said. “Every game you win this time of year makes the next game that much more important. This game is very important both for seeding in the Big East Tournament and for postseason.”
The Mountaineers are led by center Olayinka Sanni’s 13.9 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. The Chicago Heights, Ill. native is coming off a 14-point performance against Pitt and is now just four points shy of 1,000 for her career. Guard LaQuita Owens is next in scoring, averaging 13.1 points per contest. The Charlotte, N.C. native exploded in the second half against Pitt, scoring all of her 19 points in the second period. Forward Chakhia Cole rounds out the Mountaineers in double-figures, chipping in 11.6 points per game.
West Virginia continues to rely on a suffocating defense that has held opponents to just 56.1 points per game this season. The Mountaineers field goal percentage defense is ranked 25th nationally at 36.3 percent while their scoring defense is ranked 25th in the country. WVU is 13-2 on the season when holding opponents under 60 points. The Mountaineers plan to defend the Bearcats in much the same way they did Pitt.
“They (Cincinnati) have a couple shooters but they are not a great shooting team from the 3 so we need to keep them in front of us and keep them off of the offensive boards,” Carey said. “We have to do a good job of boxing out and try to get our running game going.”
Cincinnati (14-12, 5-9) has lost 7 of its last 10 games and comes to Morgantown needing one more win to secure a birth in the Big East Tournament. The Bearcats gained some positive momentum at home on Tuesday night, beating Villanova 60-50.
Cincinnati boasts a balanced attack led by senior forward Treasure Humphries with 11.8 points per game. Sophomore guard Shelly Bellman is the only other Bearcat in double figures, averaging 10.9 points per contest and pulling down a team-high 6.6 rebounds.
“They are very aggressive, and very good inside. They are very athletic on the perimeter as well,” Carey said. “Eight of their losses are against Top 25 teams so they are a bit better than their record indicates.”
Cincinnati leads the all-time series with WVU 4-1. WVU is 1-0 all-time in Morgantown. The Mountaineers are 12-1 at home this season and 12-0 when wearing gold uniform.
Saturday marks the Mountaineers’ final home game of the season. West Virginia will recognize seniors Britney Davis-White and Tameka Kelly in a brief pre-game ceremony.
The game will be televised live by the Mountaineer Sports Network. The following stations are carrying the game: WVFX Clarksburg, Fox Sports Pittsburgh, WTAP/MY5 Parkersburg, WJAL Chambersburg, Pa., Sports Time Ohio, Ohio News Network, MASN Washington D.C.
Fans outside the viewing areas can catch the game on CSTV All-Access.
