WVU Ready for In-State Clash
January 19, 2010 03:21 PM | General
By Steve Stone for MSNsportsNET.com
January 19, 2010
WEST VIRGINIA GAME NOTES
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The 11th-ranked West Virginia University women’s basketball team heads to Charleston, W.Va., to take on in-state rival Marshall in the Chesapeake Energy Capital Classic on Wednesday, Jan. 20, at the Charleston Civic Center. Tip-off is at 6:30 p.m., with the game airing on West Virginia PBS.
The Mountaineers (17-1, 5-0) own a 32-15 series lead over the Thundering Herd (11-6, 3-2). West Virginia has won the past four meetings, including a 74-65 victory in last season’s contest. WVU is also 7-1 against Marshall under coach Mike Carey, with the team’s only loss occurring in 2005.
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| Sarah Miles is looking for another big performance against Marshall on Wednesday.
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks photo |
“Marshall plays hard against us. A lot of times we’re standing there and taking some shots from them until we wake up a little bit and realize that they’re coming to play,” the ninth-year coach said. “This is a very serious game for them and we have to take it very seriously. Our team hasn’t come out all season not playing hard so I don’t expect them to come out this game not playing hard either.”
Redshirt junior guard Vanessa House hit 4 of 5 3-point field goals to lead WVU to a 69-54 victory at Pitt in its last game. The Mountaineers took the regular-season sweep over their Backyard Brawl rivals by shooting 7 of 10 from long range in the second half.
West Virginia is off to its best 18-game start in school history, and its 5-0 mark in the Big East is its best start under Carey and ties the 1996-97 squad for the best start since joining the conference. WVU’s second-best 18-game beginning belongs to the 1991-92 squad that went 26-4 overall and advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16.
WVU’s scoring defense ranks fourth in the nation, with the Mountaineers allow just 49.9 points per game. Opponents are shooting just 34.1 percent against West Virginia’s active defense, tying for the eighth-lowest mark in the country. Aside from its 92-69 loss at then-No. 3 Ohio State on Nov. 19, only one team in Iowa has managed to score more than 60 points against WVU.
“I thought we were going to be better (this season),” Carey said of his preseason expectations. “I liked our work ethic and the attitude and chemistry. I thought we were bigger and stronger and we’d be a little bit better as a team.
“This team has bought into everything we’ve asked it to do and worked hard this summer, and like I said before, we only had three players returning that played last year.”
Junior point guard Sarah Miles continues to excel in her new role this season, averaging 6.9 assists that is tied for sixth nationwide. In last year’s contest against the Thundering Herd, Miles earned game MVP honors when she posted 23 points on 8 of 17 shooting.
Junior guard Liz Repella continues to lead WVU with 14.4 points, although she has learned to spread the wealth with teams building their defensive schemes around her. The Steubenville, Ohio, native is also pulling down 6.1 boards per game.
The addition of Korinne Campbell has benefitted West Virginia tremendously this season. The transfer from Minnesota is WVU’s third double-figure scorer with 11.2 points, but is grabbing a team-best 7.8 rebounds per game from the guard/forward position. The Princeton, N.J., native scored a team-best 15 points on Sunday at Pitt.
WVU’s 15-game win streak will be tested against a Marshall squad that recently completed a 22-point comeback to defeat Houston, 66-61, last Sunday. However, the Thundering Herd will be without leading scorer Tynikki Crook after she broke her hand early in the first half against Houston.
“She gave them size in the paint,” Carey said of Crook. “She was a big player in there. Their guards are very athletic and they have some other players that can score. I look for them to pressure us a lot more and make it an up and down game, which is what we like. I think it will be a fun game to watch. Needless to say, they’re going to miss her in the paint but they have some other players who can score.”
Marshall will look to 6-foot-3 redshirt senior guard Chantelle Handy for scoring, as the England native averages 11.3 points and nearly 43 percent shooting from the field. Fellow redshirt senior Alyssa Hammond, a guard/forward, averages 10.9 points and 6.1 rebounds.
The Thundering Herd is 0-2 against Big East teams this season, falling 53-52 to Seton Hall on Nov. 16 and losing 80-58 at Pitt on Nov. 28.
“Marshall is a much improved team from last year; they beat Houston the other night, so we’re going to have our hands full,” Carey mentioned. “I tried explaining to the players that they’re going to come at us. Hopefully our players will understand that.”
The contest 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.
