WVU Hangs On, Nabs First BIG EAST Win
January 24, 2009 04:53 PM | General
January 24, 2009
| West Virginia 63, St. John's 61 wvu coliseum morgantown, w.va. |
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| FG Made-Att | 19-66 | 22-60 | ||||||||||||
| FG Percentage | 28.8% | 36.7% | ||||||||||||
| 3P Made-Att | 8-19 | 4-13 | ||||||||||||
| 3P Percentage | 42.1% | 30.8% | ||||||||||||
| FT Made-Att | 15-19 | 15-22 | ||||||||||||
| FT Percentage | 78.9% | 68.2% | ||||||||||||
| Rebounds | 44 | 49 | ||||||||||||
| Turnovers | 15 | 17 | ||||||||||||
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MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – After racing out to an early 10 point lead within the first three minutes of the game, the West Virginia University women’s basketball team held off a determined St. John’s squad to defeat the visiting Red Storm 63-61 this afternoon at the WVU Coliseum in front of 3,252 fans.
The Mountaineers (12-7, 1-5) earned the win despite a poor second-half shooting effort (20.8%) that allowed the Red Storm to gain ground after trailing 42-24 at the half.
“It’s a win and we’ll take it, but this is exactly why we struggle,” said Coach Mike Carey. “We play that hard the first half and then we come in the second half and we stand around. That’s why you get beat. This is why we’ve lost some conference games, but we got a win and that’s all that matters.”
The victory is the first conference win of the season for West Virginia, and the attendance mark is the sixth-largest in program history. WVU is now 16-4 all-time against St. John’s, while Carey is 10-1.
Though the Mountaineers finished with only a slight rebound advantage (49-44) over the Red Storm, second-chance points and baskets in the paint proved to be the difference in the game, as WVU won both categories, 28-14 and 30-22, respectively.
Four Mountaineers scored in double figures, led by sophomore guard Liz Repella, who netted her sixth double-double of the season with 13 points and 12 rebounds. The Steubenville, Ohio, native went 4-12 from the field, including two made 3-pointers.
Senior guard Takisha Granberry and sophomore guard Sarah Miles also added 13 points each, including a Miles free-throw with 0.5 seconds remaining that iced the game for the Mountaineers. Combined, the duo finished 6-9 from the charity stripe.
Senior point guard Ashley Powell scored in double figures for the sixth time this season, tossing in 10 points (4-8). Additionally, the Detroit, Mich., native passed out three assists, moving her in to fourth place on the WVU career assists list with 484.
Freshman center Natalie Burton used her 6-5 frame to her advantage this afternoon, grabbing nine rebounds, a career high, and scoring eight points in 28 minutes of action.
The Red Storm’s guard Monique McClean led all scorers with 20 points, while guard Kelly McManmon played off the bench and added 15 points and eight rebounds.
The Mountaineers opened the contest shooting on all cylinders, as the team raced out to a 14-4 lead at the 15:50 mark. Burton laid in two smooth layups in the early streak, and Repella connected for four-straight points with a free-throw and her first 3-pointer.
Though a Joy McCorvey free throw brought St. John’s to within two points, 20-18, at 9:34, the Mountaineers were able to rebuild their first-half lead up to double-digits, going on a 21-6 scoring streak to close the half 42-24.
The Mountaineers continued to roll at the onset of the second half, as a Granberry 3-pointer and a Miles foul shot extended WVU’s lead to a game best 22 points, 46-24, at 18:44.
The Red Storm (13-5, 1-4) refused to quit, and slowly chipped away at the home team’s advantage. In the midst of a five minute Mountaineer scoring drought, McManmon netted one of her game high five 3-pointers at 6:11 to cut WVU’s lead to single-digits, 56-47.
Though the pressure was on, the Mountaineers were hot from the foul line down the stretch and went 7-9 in the last 2:38 to preserve their victory.
“It’s great to get a win, but we have a long way to go,” Carey said. “If we don’t get better we aren’t going to get any more wins. We can’t be up by 22 and then have to fight at the end to win a game.”
WVU breaks from action for a week before traveling to Chicago to face DePaul on Saturday, Jan. 31, at 8 p.m. ET.
