Women's Basketball: Last Call For Seven Seniors
February 29, 2008 06:37 PM | General
February 29, 2008
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Seven Mountaineer seniors will play their final game in the WVU Coliseum when No. 13 West Virginia hosts the Louisville Cardinals Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m.
This senior class, comprised of 1,000-point scorers Meg Bulger, Olayinka Sanni, Chakhia Cole and LaQuita Owens as well pivotal bench players Lateefah Joye, Kendra Goodley and Ranisha White, have taken the Mountaineer women’s program to unprecedented heights.
“Ranisha White and Lateefah Joye were juco players that have helped us but the other five of them have been here for at least four years and all of them have experienced a lot of positives and done wonderful things for this basketball program,” West Virginia coach Mike Carey said.
West Virginia (22-5, 11-3) has been ranked for the entire season for the first time ever and with just one more victory in its last two regular season games, will lock up third place in the Big East, the highest finish in program history.
“If we don’t win one of these last two we could fall as far as sixth. If we are the type of team we think we are we should be able to win at home,” Carey said. “We need to pull one of these two out and we would love to win both heading into the Big East Tournament.”
These seniors, who have a combined 499 starts between them, helped the program to the 2007 NCAA Tournament second round, the 2006 Big East Tournament Championship game, the 2005 WNIT finals and the 2004 NCAA Tournament.
“Win or lose from this point out they have done a great job for the program and they will be missed. Hopefully it’s an experience they never forget,” Carey said. “West Virginia will certainly miss them.”
Sanni leads four Mountaineers in double figures with 16.7 points and pulls down a team-best 7.4 rebounds per game. Owens is next with 13.7 per game while Bulger is right behind her, pouring in 13.3. Cole averages 10.1 points per game and has started all 124 games of her career.
Sanni is currently the WVU career leader in field goal percentage, shooting 55.7 percent from the floor while Bulger is the leader in 3-point percentage at 44.2 percent.
“Even when I was on the men’s side she (Bulger) is the best 3-point shooter I have ever coached,” Carey said. “As far as having a quick release and getting the 3 off at any angle, she’s the best I have ever coached.”
West Virginia is coming off a tough 77-75 overtime loss at rival Pitt on Tuesday night and will face a red-hot Louisville team that has won seven in a row and did not lose a game in the month of February. The Cardinals are fresh off an 82-57 drubbing of Providence on Tuesday evening.
Louisville (20-7, 9-5) boasts the league’s leading scorer in 6-foot-1 forward Angel McCoughtry, who pours in 23.6 points per game and a team-best 8.7 rebounds.
“She is going to score. We can’t stop her. What I don’t want to do is not let people around her get career nights,” Carey said. “We will be aware of where she is but she’s too good to shut down. We can’t let the others beat us.”
McCoughtry is joined in double figures by forward Candyce Bingham and center Chauntise Wright who score 14.3 and 11.1 points per game respectively.
The Cardinals force nearly 20 turnovers a game and collect an impressive 13 offensive rebounds per contest.
“We have to be smart with the basketball, limit turnovers and be strong on the glass,” Carey said. “They are coming in here on a roll and we need to get this one on our home floor.”
