West Virginia Travels to Pitt
January 16, 2010 02:05 PM | General
By Steve Stone for MSNsportsNET.com
January 16, 2010
WEST VIRGINIA GAME NOTES
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – In a rematch of last week’s competitive contest, the 13th-ranked West Virginia University women’s basketball team heads to the Petersen Events Center against Pitt on Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPNU with Rob King and former Mountaineer Meg Bulger on the call.
On Jan. 5, West Virginia won a 63-59 nail-biter against its rival at the WVU Coliseum. Liz Repella’s second-half surge culminated with 16 points, including two decisive free throws in the waning moments of the game to seal the victory.
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| WVU Coach Mike Carey has his team off to one of its best starts in school history.
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks photo |
“It isn’t a benefit,” WVU coach Mike Carey said of playing rival Pitt in a 12-game span. “We have to play them twice so we might as well play them now. We can look at film on the last game against them and I’m sure they’re doing the same and everybody’s making adjustments and tweaking some things. I think Pitt needs a win and they’re going to come out with a lot of energy and they’ll have a great atmosphere. It’ll be a tough place to play.”
The Mountaineers (16-1, 4-0) remain undefeated in conference play, with three of their four victories coming at home. However, their next three contests are away from Morgantown, as the three-game stretch serves as a barometer for what WVU wants to accomplish this season.
West Virginia continues to win with its defense, holding opponents to a meager 49.7 points per game, tying for the nation’s third-best mark. Against Villanova, the Mountaineers were forced to play at a slow and subtle pace but proved that they can win in any style by pulling out a 45-41 victory. In almost half of its games, WVU has held its opponents to 45 points or less.
WVU is off to its best start in the Big East since the 1996-97 season and boasts a 14-game winning streak, its longest since winning 22 in a row in the 1991-92 season. WVU’s 16-1 start this season is the best 17-game start in school history.
WVU looks to key in on Pitt guard Jania Sims, who scored 28 points on 11 of 19 shooting last week against WVU.
“We’re going to change up on the on-ball pick that they run,” Carey said. “In the second half all they ran was their on-ball pick and Jania would drive and score. We’re going to give her different looks on that play so it’s not easy for her to get in the paint.
Three Mountaineers are averaging double figures in scoring, led by Repella and her 14.7 points per game. Freshman center Asya Bussie tallies 12.1 per game while junior guard/forward Korinne Campbell averages 10.9 points and a squad-best 7.7 rebounds per game. Junior point guard Sarah Miles leads the Big East with 6.8 assists per contest.
Pitt did its job of guarding Repella tightly in the first half of last week’s game against WVU. Carey expects the Panthers (11-5, 0-3) to use that same game plan in order to prevent the Steubenville, Ohio, native from scoring in bunches.
“They’re going to target Liz without a doubt,” Carey insisted. “They’re going to target her when she comes off picks and stay with her and not help off of her. She has to move and use her ball-fakes, get them off the dribble a little bit and loosen them up a little bit. We have to do a good job freeing her up and she has to do a good job off the dribble.”
The Panthers have endured a rough start to conference play, coming off a 52-46 loss to Rutgers. They have lost four of their last five games after beginning the season with a 10-1 mark.
The game will also be broadcast on MSN women’s basketball affiliated stations with play-by-play announcer Travis Jones and color commentator Jay Jacobs on the call. Live stats of the contest can be viewed at www.pittsburghpanthers.com.
