West Virginia Downs Pirates
January 27, 2010 10:05 PM | General
January 27, 2010
PHOTOS
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – It seems like a never-ending theme, but once again the 11th-ranked West Virginia University women’s basketball team flexed its muscles on the defensive end and defeated Seton Hall, 55-31, on Wednesday evening at the WVU Coliseum.
West Virginia’s 19th victory of the season does have a historical note – its 31 points given up against the Pirates (8-13, 0-8) is the lowest total by a Big East opponent in school history. WVU coach Mike Carey believes his team’s stellar defensive effort was a result of taking away Seton Hall’s greatest strength on offense.
“I think we took away their high-low, which is their strength,” Carey said. “We got No. 42 in foul trouble in the first half. They just couldn’t go high-low on us. But our emphasis was not to let Ebonie Williams catch, and she caught.”
Williams seemed to be Seton Hall’s only viable option on offense, scoring 17 points. But she was forced to score more than half her team’s points on 21 shots, joining the rest of her teammates in finding difficulty against WVU’s man-to-man pressure.
The Pirates were held to just 23.1 percent shooting, the second-lowest WVU has given up this season. Exploiting Seton Hall throughout the evening were freshman center Asya Bussie and junior guard/forward Korinne Campbell, who amassed five and a career-high four blocked shots, respectively.
The victory extends WVU's home win streak to 15 games dating back to last season.
Much of WVU’s offense went through Campbell and junior point guard Sarah Miles. They faced a pesky 2-3 zone throughout the night, as Campbell led the Mountaineers (19-2, 6-1) with a team-high 17 points and nine rebounds. Miles finished the contest with 13 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
“I thought there were three people with energy tonight – Sarah Miles and Korinne Campbell,” Carey added. “Akeema Richards came off with some energy too.”
The Mountaineers struggled to find their shot, going 18 of 53 (34 percent) from the floor. Junior guard Liz Repella and Bussie added nine points apiece in a game where their offensive production was not needed thanks to another rugged defensive performance.
Regardless if WVU struggles offensively, Carey believes his squad has a short memory that ultimately benefits each player.
“Liz doesn’t let it affect her defense when she’s not scoring,” Carey said of WVU’s scoring leader. “That’s the good thing about our team - they’ll continue to play defense when they are not hitting their shots, and that’s why we can win some of these ugly games. When we’re not scoring, we have to get stops, and that’s when it’s important to play defense. Our team continues to play defense and not pout about missing their shots.”
WVU attempted to make tonight’s contest more of an up-and-down game by running out on the fast break when available. However, that option was taken away as the Mountaineers tallied just six fast break points. But like in several of its wins this season, West Virginia outscored its opponent in points off turnovers, holding a 14-5 edge.
WVU hopes to get back to its favorable style of play against a tough Louisville team on Saturday. More importantly, Carey looks to get more energy out of his squad.
“It seemed like we didn’t have a lot of energy but we got the win. We’ve got to be ready for Louisville,” Carey insisted. “We’ve got to get ready to play against them these next two days, and hopefully we can do that.”
The Mountaineers led 27-18 in a low-scoring first half that featured good defensive pressure by both teams. Campbell scored nearly half of WVU’s points, pouring in 13 on 5 of 9 shooting, including 3 of 4 from long range. The Princeton, N.J., native also had five boards and three blocks in 17 minutes of play.
Miles had five assists to just one turnover at halftime, but found it difficult to penetrate through Seton Hall’s zone defense. She did plenty of work on the defensive end, amassing five rebounds while making every effort to start her team out on the fast break.
West Virginia shot just 34.5 percent in the first half, but held the Pirates to just 26.9 percent from the floor.
The Mountaineers face conference rival Louisville on Saturday evening at the WVU Coliseum. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. on West Virginia PBS.
GAME NOTES: WVU has now won four of its last six meetings against Seton Hall ... dating back to the 2006-07 season, WVU is 22-6 in Big East home contests ... Carey is inching closer to his 100th victory at the WVU Coliseum, earning his 97th tonight ... Carey is 97-25 all-time at the WVU Coliseum ... the Mountaineers are one win away from earning their fifth 20-win season in the past seven years ... WVU's 19 wins this season surpasses its 18-win total from last year ... Repella is just 44 points shy of reaching 1,000 for her career.
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Dale Sparks/All-Pro Photography
