Women's Basketball: WVU Hosts The Hall
February 04, 2009 11:08 AM | General
By Steve Stone for MSNsportsNET.com
February 4, 2009
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University women’s basketball team returns to the WVU Coliseum for a matchup against Seton Hall on Wednesday, Feb. 4, at 8 p.m. The game will be televised on WVPBS.
After staying competitive with No. 25 DePaul for the majority of the contest, the Mountaineers (12-8, 1-6 Big East) fell to the Blue Demons, 74-56, last Saturday night at McGrath Arena.
WVU is looking for its second conference victory against the Pirates (14-7, 2-6), who dropped a high-scoring 89-84 decision against St. John’s in their last game on Feb. 1. The Pirates have dropped four straight conference games since winning at Syracuse on Jan. 13.
Much like the Mountaineers, Seton Hall bolted through its nonconference schedule before enduring some tough losses in the Big East. The Hall has defeated Marshall (73-52), Colorado (77-40), NC State (71-65), St. Joseph’s (74-67 OT) and Massachusetts (79-74) in nonconference action.
The Pirates have shown to be competitive against some of the best teams in the Big East, falling to then-No. 12 Notre Dame, 66-60. Both teams have lost to Pitt and Cincinnati, while the Mountaineers hold the edge over St. John’s with a 63-61 victory on Jan. 24.
Liz Repella is coming off a superb performance against the Blue Demons, scoring a game-high 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting, including 3-of-6 from outside the arc. The Steubenville, Ohio, native continues to impress in her sophomore campaign by averaging 15.7 points per game as well as a team-high eight rebounds per game at the guard position.
Repella played 24 minutes in WVU’s 70-42 win over the Hall last season in New Jersey. She totaled three points, one rebound and one assist. Guard Ashley Powell was the other Mountaineer to play in last year’s contest, scoring six points with three rebounds and four assists in 18 minutes.
Senior Takisha Granberry continues to lead the Mountaineers in scoring, averaging 15.9 points per contest while grabbing a second-best 7.3 boards per game. The Charlotte, N.C., resident tallied 15 points and six rebounds in 33 minutes against DePaul.
Facing a shortened bench due to several season-ending injuries, the Mountaineers continue to rely on their defense. WVU’s scoring defense gives up only 56.5 points per game, while the Hall trail with 61.7 points per game. WVU also holds its opponents to nearly 38 percent shooting from the field, while the Pirates give up almost 40 percent against their competition.
The Pirates are led by the duo of Ebonie Williams and Noteisha Womack. Williams, a sophomore guard from Hagerstown, Md., scored a career-high 31 points along with four assists and three steals against the Red Storm. Williams leads the Hall with 14.3 points and shoots nearly 86 percent from the free throw line (36-of-42).
Womack, a senior forward from Washington D.C., is the Big East’s leading rebounder at 12.4 boards per game. She averages 14 points and notched a season-high 25 points and 15 boards against Norfolk State on Dec. 31.
The Pirates lead the all-time series, 11-9, dating back to their first meeting in 1983. The Mountaineers have won the last two contests, including a 79-54 victory on Jan. 16, 2007, in Morgantown.
