House's Hot Hand Carries WVU
January 17, 2010 06:54 PM | General
January 17, 2010
PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Redshirt junior guard Vanessa House came off the bench to hit four 3-point field goals to elevate the No. 13 West Virginia University women’s basketball team to a 69-54 victory over conference rival Pitt on Sunday evening at the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, Pa.
House led West Virginia to its second win over Pitt in a 12-day span on the strength of her long-range shooting – an area that helped give the Mountaineers (17-1, 5-0) the win this afternoon. WVU canned 8 of 18 3-point attempts, including 7 of 10 in the second half, while holding the Panthers (11-6, 0-4) to just 2 of 10 from long range.
West Virginia got things done once again on defense, holding Pitt to 39.6 percent shooting. The Mountaineers used a combination of nine steals and four blocked shots to help produce 20 points off 23 Pitt turnovers.
Five double-figure scorers allowed West Virginia to post its highest point total in Big East play this season. Junior guard/forward Korinne Campbell led WVU with 15 points and nine rebounds, junior point guard Sarah Miles added 13 points, a career-high nine assists and six steals, freshman center Asya Bussie scored 11 points with eight rebounds and junior guard Liz Repella chipped in with 10 points and eight boards.
House's four 3-pointers produced 12 points.
West Virginia shot only 39 percent from the field, but outrebounded a taller Pitt squad by a 42-35 margin. WVU’s effort on the glass helped create 12 second-chance points, and its ability to draw fouls with an aggressive offensive game plan contributed to 26 free-throw attempts compared to Pitt’s 17.
The Mountaineers now own a 15-game winning streak, their longest since winning 22 in a row during the 1991-92 season. WVU’s 5-0 mark in conference action is tied with the 1996-97 squad for the best start as a member of the Big East Conference.
Throughout most of the game, WVU was able to keep its lead but found it difficult to pull away from the Panthers. After Pitt’s Jania Sims hit a jumper to make it 45-43 with 9:31 left, West Virginia responded with a game-deciding 24-11 run to close out the contest. In that stretch, Repella hit a 3-point field goal to put WVU ahead at 62-49 with 3:19 remaining.
Miles put the game out of reach in the closing minutes by making 5 of 6 free throws.
A House 3-pointer with 12:41 left in the game extended WVU’s lead to 44-37 midway through the second half. Pitt cut into that lead when Sims hit consecutive running jumpers, forcing WVU to call a timeout. WVU responded with a Campbell 3-pointer to push the lead back to 48-43 with 7:33 remaining in the contest.
Pitt took a 31-29 lead, its first of the game, on the strength of two Pepper Wilson layups. WVU countered with an important 9-0 run to force a Pitt timeout with 16:05 remaining. Repella and House each hit 3-pointers during the run and a Miles steal and subsequent layup forced the Pitt stoppage of play. A Shayla Scott layup at the 15:42 mark stopped the Mountaineer run.
WVU held a 29-27 lead at the half on the strength of Bussie’s seven points and four rebounds. The Mountaineers’ aggressive defense forced the Panthers into 11 first stanza turnovers and produced four steals.
Pitt closed to 18-17 on a Scott layup with 7:22 remaining, but a Bussie layup and a House 3-pointer pushed the Mountaineer lead back to 25-21 with 3:34 left in the first half.
Up 17-12 with 11:06 left in the first half, Madina Ali had a quick six points on 3 of 3 shooting and Miles had two steals that led to two coast-to-coast layups. The Mountaineers led 18-15 with 7:55 left in the first half as both teams struggled to score. WVU held a 17-10 rebounding advantage at that mark.
WVU led 13-6 at the first media timeout as Bussie had a quick five points and WVU’s defense forced four quick Pitt turnovers and produced three steals.
Sims, who scored 28 points against West Virginia in the last meeting, finished with 18 points on 4 of 13 shooting for the Panthers.
West Virginia returns to action on Wednesday, Jan. 20, at 6:30 p.m., at the Charleston Civic Center when it takes on Marshall. The game will air on West Virginia PBS.
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All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks photo
