WVU Sinks Georgetown
January 26, 2008 05:22 PM | General
January 26, 2008
BOX SCORE | COACHES' QUOTES | PHOTO GALLERY | 
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MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - No. 12 West Virginia used a 16-3 run midway through the first half to pull away from Georgetown on the way to a 67-35 victory over the Hoyas Saturday afternoon at the WVU Coliseum. LaQuita Owens led WVU with 22 points, connecting on 9 of 17 shots from the field and 4 of her 10 tries from downtown.
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| LaQuita Owens' 22 points helps West Virginia to an easy 67-35 victory over Georgetown Saturday afternoon at the WVU Coliseum.
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks |
“LaQuita Owens gave us a great effort today and she’s been pretty consistent all year,” West Virginia Coach Mike Carey said. “I’m pleased with what she’s giving us right now.”
The Mountaineers trailed 12-11 with 12:15 left in the first half after Aminata Diop scored two down low. Ashley Powell then made the first of her three field goals, this one a long two, to give West Virginia the lead for good. Two Liz Repella free throws capped the run, providing WVU with a comfortable 26-14 lead with 7:55 remaining in the half.
“I thought we came out early in the first half and played pretty well,” Carey said. “I thought we shot the ball pretty well in the first half so I was happy with that. We rebounded pretty well also”
West Virginia (16-3, 5-1) shot a sizzling 60 percent in the first half, making 17 of 28 field goal attempts. Repella hit the first of her three 3s on the day just ahead of the halftime buzzer to give the Mountaineers a 40-20 halftime advantage. With the absence of Meg Bulger, who tweaked her knee in the Marshall game and is now listed as day-to-day, Carey sees Repella having an increased role as the season roles along.
“We think she is going to continue to get better and better. We’re so excited about Liz Repella,” Carey said. “She can give you the 3 or take it off the dribble and she plays very hard on the defensive end.”
With a comfortable lead throughout the second half, Carey experimented with different lineups, tinkering to find different contributors that can step up in the absence of Bulger.
“I’m glad we did that. With Meg out right now we need to do that and be able to find out who is going to be able to step in and play,” Carey said. “This was a good game to see who can give us quality minutes.”
While West Virginia shot an impressive 52 percent for the game, the Mountaineers’ aggressive 2-3 zone forced the Hoyas to shoot just 30 percent. The 35 points scored by Georgetown is the fewest points WVU has ever allowed in a Big East game.
“They struggled against the zone. With their starting lineup they didn’t really have any legitimate 3-point shooters based on stats,” Carey said. “We just tried to sag in on their big people. Kierahh Marlow was a big concern for us coming in and the zone took them out of some of the isolations and stuff they get for her.”
Marlow was held to just 8 points on 4 of 10 shooting from the floor.
Ashley Powell continues to give the Mountaineers a big lift offensively. After scoring 13 points Wednesday night against Marshall, the Detroit, Mich., native poured in 9 points against the Hoyas, making her first career 3.
“She works every day on her shooting and she’s got a little bit of confidence right now. If she can continue to do that, that’s going to take a person off of Sanni,” Carey said.
With a No. 5 Rutgers team coming to town this Tuesday, Carey continues to be frustrated with his team’s carelessness with the basketball. Despite the impressive victory, the Mountaineers turned the ball over 22 times.
“The biggest concern I have right now with this team is turnovers. We are lackadaisical at times with the ball,” Carey said. “We stare at people and we throw it right to them. We have to do a little bit better job with that.”
Carey was pleased with the season-high crowd of 2,328 that was mostly fueled by students who came to the Coliseum early to secure their seats for game two of today’s doubleheader when the men battle No. 9 Georgetown at 7 p.m.
“That’s great when the fans come out even though I know they’re here to get their seats for the night game. That’s great. Hey, those are the things we’ve got to do to get them here,” Carey said. “If we’ve got to buy them pizza, buy them pizza. This was a great atmosphere and that’s what we’re going to need Tuesday.”
Georgetown (11-8, 1-5) was led by Monica McNutt with 13 points.
West Virginia returns to action Tuesday, Jan. 29, when they host Rutgers at the WVU Coliseum. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
