Women's Basketball: WVU falls at Notre Dame
February 04, 2007 08:48 PM | General
Febuary 4, 2007
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Charel Allen scored 26 points and backcourt mate Ashley Barlow added 17 to lead Notre Dame to a 77-67 victory over West Virginia Sunday evening at the Joyce Center.
West Virginia (15-8, 6-4) dug a hole early, trailing 11-4 with 11:34 left in the first half. The Mountaineers did little to cut into the deficit in the first period, struggling to score at one end and failing to defend without fouling at the other.
West Virginia trailed 38-17 at halftime, its only offense coming from Chakhia Cole’s 10 points at the break. Notre Dame benefited from a significant foul disparity that allowed the Irish to connect on 15-17 foul shots while the Mountaineers made just 3-4.
West Virginia shot a frigid 26 percent from the field in the first half while the Irish shot 41 percent. Notre Dame (14-8, 5-4) dominated the glass in the first period pulling down 25 rebounds to the Mountaineers’ 12.
With their backs against the wall, the Mountaineers showed grit and determination in the second half. Faced with their largest deficit of the game at 62-38 with 9:18 remaining, West Virginia exploded on an 18-2 run to pull within eight at 64-56 on an Olayinka Sanni lay up with 3:47 left in the contest.
Down 68-58 late in the game, WVU closed to within five, trailing 68-63 after two Cole free throws followed by a LaQuita Owens 3-pointer with 1:11 left to play to play. That was as close as the Mountaineers would get. The Irish connected on 9 of 10 free throws down the stretch to put the game away.
For the game, the Mountaineers out shot the Irish 44 percent to 40 percent from the field. The difference came at the foul line and on the glass, where the Irish benefited from an outstanding 39 charity shots of which they made 33. The Mountaineers were accurate from the foul line, making 86 percent while only attempting 14 shots. Notre Dame also held a dominate 46-23 rebounding advantage.
The Mountaineers were led by Cole and Sanni who scored 16 points each. LaQuita Owens added 13 while Sparkle Davis chipped in 10.
West Virginia returns home to battle St. Johns on Tuesday, Feb. 6. Tip-off from the WVU Coliseum is set for 7:00 p.m.
