One Final Walk ... Maybe
February 27, 2009 12:16 PM | General
February 27, 2009
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Sitting in 11th place in the Big East standings with two games left is not exactly how Takisha Granberry envisioned her senior season going at West Virginia University.
 |
||
| Senior Takisha Ganberry is second on the team in scoring (15.9 ppg.) and rebounding (7.0 rpg.).
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks photo |
Granberry transferred from Virginia with one year's worth of eligibility remaining, in part, because she saw a growing women's program in Morgantown. In consecutive years the Mountaineers advanced to the NCAA Tournament second round, and three years ago WVU reached the WNIT finals.
A WNIT bid still remains a possibility this season, and that is something Granberry and fellow senior Ashley Powell can cling to when they make their final walk out on the carpet for Saturday's 2 pm game against Syracuse that will be televised statewide on WVPBS.
Two factors have played a big part in West Virginia's 15-12 record heading into Saturday's game. One, the Mountaineers graduated a large senior class in 2008 that included WNBA player Olayinka Sanni. And second, West Virginia has endured a rash of misfortune that has left just eight players available to dress for games this year. It's almost as if Mike Carey's desk is sitting underneath a ladder.
"Knowing with what we have - just eight players and no fresh legs - that we can still do it, that's what my drive is," Granberry said. "Knowing how tough this team is and now hard we fight."
West Virginia was not going to be a deep or experienced team to begin with, but the injuries began even before the season started when forward Jessica Capers - a player Carey was counting on - hurt her knee during a high school all-star game and was done for the year.
Just a few games into the season, 6-foot junior college forward Madina Ali re-injured her shoulder and elected to have season-ending surgery. Vanessa House, a backup guard who was seeing increasingly more playing time, landed awkwardly on her knee during the seventh game and was lost for the year. Freshman Amanda Keehan played in 12 games before an undisclosed medical condition forced her to give up the sport.
"There is really no room for error," Granberry explained. "We have to be on point with everything and that is what our focus is. We have to go hard because that's all we've got."
Granberry's 903 minutes played is third on the team behind Liz Repella's 950 minutes and Sarah Miles' 917 minutes. West Virginia is the only school in the Big East with three players logging more than 900 minutes so far this year. Guard Ashley Powell will make it four after Saturday's game. All of them will play more than 1,000 minutes this year.
Teams have used that to their advantage, substituting liberally in the first half to have their starters fresh late in the game.
"It's frustrating," Granberry said. "They just zoom right past you but we're working with what we've got."
Granberry is second to Repella on the team in scoring (15.9 ppg.) and rebounding (7.0 rpg.). Her 39.5 percent shooting percentage is pretty good when you consider the amount of minutes she is logging. Twice Granberry has topped 30 points in a game this year, including a career-high 31 points in an overtime loss at Georgetown. West Virginia fought back from nine points down to take a late lead and had a chance to win the game during regulation. But misses by Repella and Granberry before the horn led to overtime and that's when Georgetown's depth took over.
"We had it in the bag and it was tough not being able to keep that going during overtime," Granberry said. "It hurt. Both Pittsburgh games hurt also. We really wanted those games, especially against a ranked team."
There have been some memorable moments, too. West Virginia's 79-70 upset of fifth-ranked Louisville was one of the most shocking results of the year in women's basketball. Granberry played a big part in that victory with a game-high 27 points, matching Louisville All-America guard Angel McCoughtry's 27 points.
A recent win over South Florida was also noteworthy. Foul trouble limited Granberry to just 13 points in 20 minutes in that game, but her teammates responded.
"I'm happy with what we're doing and the effort that we're putting in," Granberry said. "We're doing what we can."
And Granberry says there might be more left from her after this season. She has petitioned the NCAA for an extra year because she says she has only played three full seasons of basketball.
"At the start of my junior year I played in an exhibition game at Virginia but this is only my third year of playing basketball," she said. "Now I'm fighting to get that fourth year back."
Granberry said she will know her eligibility status before WNBA tryout camps begin in the spring.
"We've got everything turned in and I believe the NCAA will begin looking at everything right after the Final Four," Granberry said.
Perhaps another walk out onto the carpet with her family next year?
"That would be great," Granberry smiled. "I am looking forward to that because we will have a full roster next year."
