WVU Defeats Maine
December 05, 2009 02:31 PM | General
By Steve Stone for MSNsportsNET.com
December 5, 2009
HIGHLIGHTS
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Madina Ali’s career-high 18 points led the West Virginia University women’s basketball team to an 88-32 victory over Maine on Saturday afternoon at the WVU Coliseum.
With the victory, the Mountaineers have won seven of their first eight games for the third straight season. Five West Virginia players finished in double-figures, with Asya Bussie scoring 16 points, Korinne Campbell tallying 14, Liz Repella notching 13 points and freshman Akeema Richards scoring a career-high 10 points.
“I always like having four or five people in double figures,” coach Mike Carey said. “That gives us an opportunity to win because they can’t load up on one person. Other than that, I thought the intensity was good for most of the game. We’ve got to keep improving, but I thought we did better this game than we did our last game.”
West Virginia had its best shooting performance of the season, going 33 of 57 (57.9 percent) from the field as it found several open spots in Maine’s mix of zone defenses. It was WVU’s best offensive display since shooting 59.6 percent in an 80-47 win over Rhode Island on Nov. 24, 2007.
The Mountaineers put plenty of pressure on the Black Bears (2-4) defensively, scoring 30 points off 25 turnovers. WVU outscored Maine 21-8 in bench points, with all 10 active players scoring at least one point.
West Virginia’s offensive game plan was catered toward getting points inside, and it responded with a season-high 52 points in the paint.
Point guard Sarah Miles was also a catalyst for West Virginia, finishing the game with six points, six rebounds, eight assists and five steals.
Ali set the tone for West Virginia in the first half with an already-career-high 13 points, helping the Mountaineers to a 39-22 lead. The Williamsport, Pa., native was 4 of 4 from the field and 5 of 6 from the free throw line, using her quickness and physicality to aggressively drive to the basket.
“There’s nobody that wants to plays harder and do better than Madina,” Carey mentioned. “She was one of our hardest working people all summer and fall, and she’s one of our leaders. I’m so happy to see her get some confidence and hopefully she builds on this. She gives us that physical four that we need.”
The Mountaineers were off and running from the opening tip, compiling 10 fastbreak points and 15 points off turnovers in the first half. Their ability to get baskets inside resulted in a 60.9 field goal percentage.
WVU got off to a quick 11-2 advantage when Campbell turned a steal into a fastbreak layup with 16:34 left. Vanessa House stretched the lead to 20 points on another transition basket, stealing the ball from Maine’s Amanda Tewksbury that resulted in a fastbreak layup with 3:49 before halftime.
“I thought we came out a lot harder in this game,” Carey added. “We played a lot harder and more determined. We had a lot of turnovers in the first half; in the second half our top eight took care of the ball. I was glad to see Madina finally get going. We need her to get going and this is the best game she’s had.”
Maine’s Kristin Baker led the Black Bears with 12 points on 5 of 9 shooting.
West Virginia returns to action on Tuesday, Dec. 8, with its third-straight home contest against Eastern Kentucky. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
GAME NOTES: Sarah Miles is the ninth player in school history to have at least six points, six rebounds, eight assists and five steals in a game ... WVU's defense held Maine to just 10 second-half points ... Liz Repella has now scored in double-figures in 13 straight games dating back to last season ... for the second straight game, all 10 WVU players scored ... WVU's 88 points is its best offensive performance since scoring 90 against USF on Feb. 21, 2009.
All-Pro Photography/Joe Sadlek
