Women's Basketball: WVU Falls to Marquette
February 15, 2009 04:50 PM | General
By Steve Stone for MSNsportsNET.com
February 15, 2009
| West Virginia 59, Marquette 79 Al McGuire Center Milwaukee, Wis. |
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Box Score
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| Summary | ||||||||||||||
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| Stat Comparison | ||||||||||||||
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| FG Made-Att | 21-60 | 26-61 | ||||||||||||
| FG Percentage | 35.0% | 42.6% | ||||||||||||
| 3P Made-Att | 3-9 | 10-19 | ||||||||||||
| 3P Percentage | 33.3% | 52.6% | ||||||||||||
| FT Made-Att | 14-20 | 17-20 | ||||||||||||
| FT Percentage | 70.0% | 85.0% | ||||||||||||
| Rebounds | 34 | 43 | ||||||||||||
| Turnovers | 17 | 18 | ||||||||||||
| Top WVU Players | ||||||||||||||
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MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University women’s basketball team fell to Marquette, 79-59, on Sunday afternoon at the Al Maguire Center in Milwaukee, Wis.
Trailing 28-27 at halftime, the Mountaineers (14-10, 3-8 Big East) had trouble containing a Marquette offense that shot 53.3 percent in the second half, including 9-of-13 on 3-pointers.
Sophomore Liz Repella had a thorough performance for WVU, scoring a team-high 20 points on 7-of-17 shooting. The Steubenville, Ohio, resident also grabbed six rebounds to go along with three steals.
Center Natalie Burton led the team with 10 rebounds, a season-high for the Perth Australia, Carine native. Sarah Miles and Takisha Granberry added 14 points apiece.
The Mountaineers shot 35 percent overall (21-of-60), and took advantage of their opportunities from the free throw line by making 14-of-20 attempts. However, they generated only six assists as a team on the afternoon, being unable to move the ball and set up easy baskets.
In the beginning of the second half, WVU kept pace with the Golden Eagles (14-11, 5-6). A tip-in by Repella knotted the game at 31-31, and Granberry’s layup with 17:29 left gave the Mountaineers their last lead at 33-31.
Marquette responded with a decisive 28-8 run over nearly seven minutes. A key to the run was its outside shooting as the Golden Eagles made six 3-pointers during the stretch to take a 20-point lead with 10:20 left.
Playing with a shortened rotation, the Mountaineers were outscored in bench points, 26-1. WVU also lost the battle in points off turnovers, getting outscored 25-15 as it committed 17 turnovers throughout the contest.
The Golden Eagles were led by two 20-plus scorers in guards Krystal Ellis (25 points) and Erin Monfre (21 points). Ellis also grabbed six rebounds and tallied three assists in just 24 minutes.
The Mountaineers’ lack of depth due to injury was a factor. Their starting five of Miles, Granberry, Repella, Ashley Powell and Burton garnered at least 30 minutes apiece. Repella played the entire contest, while Burton and Powell played 38 minutes each.
Both teams overcame sluggish starts to pick up the offense in the second half. WVU shot 45.8 percent (11-of-24) in the latter period compared to starting off the first 20 minutes 10-of-36 from the field.
WVU finishes its two-game road stretch at Georgetown on Wednesday, Feb. 18. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m.
