Women's Basketball: WVU to Battle Villanova
January 16, 2009 11:26 PM | General
January 16, 2009
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University women’s basketball team resumes Big East play when it faces Villanova in a road contest on Saturday, Jan. 20, at 2 p.m. at the Pavilion in Villanova, Pa.
The Mountaineers (11-5, 0-3 Big East) are searching for their first win in conference action. WVU erased a three-game slide with a 74-65 neutral site victory over Conference USA rival Marshall last Wednesday.
WVU has won its last two contests over the Wildcats (9-7, 1-2 BE), grabbing a 76-55 win in Morgantown last season and earning a hard-fought 59-45 victory at Villanova in 2007, breaking an eight-game losing streak against the Wildcats.
San Antonio, Texas, native Sarah Miles has been the sparkplug for the Mountaineers. The speedy point guard produced her third 20-plus effort of the season against Marshall, notching 23 points on 8-of-17 shooting.
Three other double-figure scorers in Takisha Granberry, Liz Repella and Ashley Powell made their presence felt in Charleston. Granberry tallied 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting, Repella added 14 and Powell finished 12 points and five assists.
Through 16 games, the Mountaineers are averaging 67.4 points while holding the opposition to 54.5 points. WVU’s guards have done a fine job of attacking the glass, as Repella (8.5 rpg) and Granberry (7.9 rpg) lead the squad from the backcourt. Center Natalie Burton, a Perth, Australia, native, also averages 5.1 boards.
WVU holds the fourth spot in the Big East with 16.9 offensive boards per game.
The Mountaineers are looking for their first-ever win at the Pavilion on Saturday afternoon. The Wildcats have been competitive against several quality teams, falling by single digits to No. 23 Rutgers (60-51), Cincinnati (61-54), No. 5 Baylor (62-57) and Wisconsin (47-45).
Villanova’s lone conference victory came against Providence. Seniors Siobhan O’Connor and Laura Kurz had 16 points apiece in a 57-54 win over the Friars. Kurz, a forward from Lower Gwynedd, Pa., leads Villanova with 17.4 points and 8.1 rebounds per game and has collected 14 20-point games in her career as well as seven double-doubles.
The Wildcats average 57.1 points while showing a scoring margin of plus-3.8 points.
WVU looks to feed off its offensive performance against the Thundering Herd, totaling 32 points in the paint, its most since scoring 36 points inside in a 76-51 win over Longwood on Dec. 30.
The Wildcats lead the Mountaineers, 17-7, in the all-time series that dates back to 1978. WVU’s contest against Villanova also marks the 21st annual Villanova women’s basketball alumnae game, with more than 40 former players expected to return for the game at 11:30 a.m.
Following the contest, WVU will travel to Piscataway, N.J., on Jan. 20 to battle No. 23 Rutgers on Tuesday evening at 7:30 p.m.
