Women's Basketball: WVU Rolls to 2-0 in Australia
August 09, 2007 09:58 AM | General
August 9, 2007
BOX SCORE
Sydney, Australia – West Virginia University’s women’s basketball team easily defeated Manly 78-40 at St. Augustine College in game two of its Australian exhibition tour, Thursday night.
Five Mountaineers reached double figures in scoring led by senior guard LaQuita Owens’ 20 points. Senior guard Lateefah Joye notched a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Senior centers Olayinka Sanni and Ranisha White and junior guard Sparkle Davis had 14 points each, respectively, also.
After struggling with jet lag and fatigue in game one against New South Wales Institute of Sport yesterday, WVU found both its offensive and defensive prowess against Manly. The Mountaineers raced out to a 21-15 advantage at the end of the first quarter and the game was securely in hand at halftime with WVU leading 42-23.
Joye sparked the Mountaineers with six quick points on 3-3 shooting with two steals and two rebounds and Owens hit a 3-pointer as first quarter time expired. Joye finished the first half with 12 points while Owens had 15.
“We played with a lot more energy tonight,” WVU coach Mike Carey said. “We made shots early in the game and our offensive rhythm played off that early success. We had a lot better ball movement than we did yesterday. Lateefah was very active tonight and Sparkle did a great job offensively.”
WVU posted a 51-23 rebounding advantage which included 25 offensive caroms. WVU also forced 27 Manly turnovers. Jenna Bilton had a team-high 11 points for the Warringah.
WVU will play its third game in as many days when it takes on ABA Select tomorrow evening at 7:30 p.m., also here in Sydney.
“I’m a bit concerned with playing three games in three days with just eight players,” Carey added. “We will continue to sit Chakhia Cole as she recovers from her sprained ankle. We’re hopeful she can play in our final two games in Cairns.”
