Repella Leads Mountaineers Past Falcons
November 06, 2010 10:13 PM | General
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Senior guard and co-captain Liz Repella led No. 11/11 West Virginia to a 99-42 victory over Fairmont State in the women’s season opening exhibition game on Saturday night.
The victory marks the first time the Mountaineers have scored 99 or more points since January 10, 2006, when the Mountaineers beat Louisville 99-73.
Tallying nearly half of the team’s 51 first-half points with 19, Repella ended the game with 21 total points and six rebounds in 25 minutes. Fellow senior and co-captain Madina Ali wasn’t far behind, also ending the game scoring in double digits with 18 points in 24 minutes.
“I’ve seen women’s Final Four basketball teams in the past few years and West Virginia is as good as any of those Final Four teams,” said Fairmont head coach Steven McDonald. “They are good at every position. Their post players are much improved and their post players can score. I think Liz (Repella) is playing at an exceptional level and they’re awfully good.”
Once again showcasing their annually tough defense, WVU forced 35 turnovers, and had 21 defensive rebounds while limiting their own turnovers to 15.
“We just really wanted to focus on our defense. In practice, we haven’t been at our best on defense, so we really wanted to crunch down on getting up the lanes, denying their back doors and getting on the boards,” said Repella.
Sophomore Asya Bussie contributed 14 points and eight rebounds, while Natalie Burton and LSU transfer Ayana Dunning added 12 and ten points, respectively, off the bench.
“Fairmont played hard and did what they could do, but you still have to get up in the lanes and make them turn it over. They really couldn’t run their offense and they were trying the back doors, but we did a pretty good job snapping our heads and not giving up the back doors,” commented West Virginia head coach Mike Carey.
West Virginia next plays host to Loyola Maryland in their regular-season opener, Friday, Nov. 12. A member of the MAAC Conference, Loyola was picked to finish third in the conference, the highest they have ever been picked under current coach Joe Logan.
A double header with the men’s team, tipoff is set for 7 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN3.com.
The victory marks the first time the Mountaineers have scored 99 or more points since January 10, 2006, when the Mountaineers beat Louisville 99-73.
Tallying nearly half of the team’s 51 first-half points with 19, Repella ended the game with 21 total points and six rebounds in 25 minutes. Fellow senior and co-captain Madina Ali wasn’t far behind, also ending the game scoring in double digits with 18 points in 24 minutes.
“I’ve seen women’s Final Four basketball teams in the past few years and West Virginia is as good as any of those Final Four teams,” said Fairmont head coach Steven McDonald. “They are good at every position. Their post players are much improved and their post players can score. I think Liz (Repella) is playing at an exceptional level and they’re awfully good.”
Once again showcasing their annually tough defense, WVU forced 35 turnovers, and had 21 defensive rebounds while limiting their own turnovers to 15.
“We just really wanted to focus on our defense. In practice, we haven’t been at our best on defense, so we really wanted to crunch down on getting up the lanes, denying their back doors and getting on the boards,” said Repella.
Sophomore Asya Bussie contributed 14 points and eight rebounds, while Natalie Burton and LSU transfer Ayana Dunning added 12 and ten points, respectively, off the bench.
“Fairmont played hard and did what they could do, but you still have to get up in the lanes and make them turn it over. They really couldn’t run their offense and they were trying the back doors, but we did a pretty good job snapping our heads and not giving up the back doors,” commented West Virginia head coach Mike Carey.
West Virginia next plays host to Loyola Maryland in their regular-season opener, Friday, Nov. 12. A member of the MAAC Conference, Loyola was picked to finish third in the conference, the highest they have ever been picked under current coach Joe Logan.
A double header with the men’s team, tipoff is set for 7 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN3.com.
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