WVU Defeated By Marquette
January 11, 2011 11:30 PM | General
MILWAUKEE – Sixth-ranked West Virginia experienced its first loss of the season to Marquette, 69-54, at the Al McGuire Center on Tuesday night.
The last time the teams met at the Al McGuire center two years ago, Marquette came away with the win, sinking nine shots from beyond the arc to effectively put away West Virginia. This time, however, it wasn’t 3-point shooting that challenged the Mountaineer defense, but effective free throw shooting and an 8-0 scoring run from Marquette to open the second half.
This early second half run, combined with steady and continued offense, allowed the Golden Eagles (14-3, 2-2 BE) to outscore West Virginia early, 11-2, and take the lead by two with 14:35 remaining. The Mountaineers (16-1, 3-1 BE) would not regain the lead again.
Despite solid first half play on both offense and defense, in which the Mountaineers shot 51.9 percent (14-of-27) from the field while holding Marquette to just 29.6 percent (8-of-27) from the field, West Virginia was unable to get its offense going when it needed it the most, resulting in the team being outscored 38-19 in the second half.
“In the first half, I thought defensively, we did a good job in our sets,” explained coach Carey. “All but four or five points were from the foul line or second chance points. This was the first time we got behind that late and just started going behind one-on-one. We broke down all over the place. This should not happen with five seniors. I have to give them (Marquette) credit. They took it right to us.”
The Mountaineer scoring efforts were led by Liz Repella, who put up 15 points and grabbed two boards. She also led the team in the first half, shooting 5-of-6 from the field and 3-of-3 from beyond the arc. Madina Ali followed close behind, with 14 points and five rebounds, and Ayana Dunning rounded out the top three, with eight points and five rebounds in 20 minutes of play.
“I didn’t see a change from the first half to the second half; I just wasn’t hitting the shots like I was in the first half,” Repella said. “They play good defense, but there really wasn’t much of a change. We are getting back in the gym and we have to get after it. Our seniors, this is our last year, so we have to come back strong. We have to see what we’re going to do against Syracuse coming off this loss.”
Defensively, the team held Marquette to 30.8 percent (4-of-13) accuracy from beyond the arc, a range from which the Golden Eagles have always been deadly. Instead, it was the charity stripe that proved the advantage, as the team shot 87.1 percent (27-of-31) from the free throw line, scoring 27 points off of West Virginia fouls.
Sarah Miles led the Mountaineer defense in steals with three on the night, while Asya Bussie collected the lone block.
Marquette had four players score in the double-digits in the upset. Senior guard Angel Robinson led all players with 18 points, followed closely by sophomore forward Sarina Simmons who put up 14. Tatiyiana McMorris had 12 points and Paige Fiedorowicz rounded out the top four with ten.
“I’m not disappointed we lost; we weren’t going to go undefeated,” Carey said. “I’m disappointed in how we played in the loss. You’re going to lose some games, but I never thought we would lose composure like we did. We quit blocking out, quit playing defense and continued to put them at the foul line. The second half we just stood around. They got physical with us and we kind of folded and that’s not like us. We have to regroup because we have a tough game at home against Syracuse.”
The Mountaineers return to action at the Coliseum on Saturday, where they will play host to BIG EAST foe Syracuse. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. with MSNsportsNET.com providing live video and stats. The game will also be aired on WVPBS. Hoppy Kercheval will once again provide the play-by-play with former WVU basketball standout Warren Baker adding analysis.
The last time the teams met at the Al McGuire center two years ago, Marquette came away with the win, sinking nine shots from beyond the arc to effectively put away West Virginia. This time, however, it wasn’t 3-point shooting that challenged the Mountaineer defense, but effective free throw shooting and an 8-0 scoring run from Marquette to open the second half.
This early second half run, combined with steady and continued offense, allowed the Golden Eagles (14-3, 2-2 BE) to outscore West Virginia early, 11-2, and take the lead by two with 14:35 remaining. The Mountaineers (16-1, 3-1 BE) would not regain the lead again.
Despite solid first half play on both offense and defense, in which the Mountaineers shot 51.9 percent (14-of-27) from the field while holding Marquette to just 29.6 percent (8-of-27) from the field, West Virginia was unable to get its offense going when it needed it the most, resulting in the team being outscored 38-19 in the second half.
“In the first half, I thought defensively, we did a good job in our sets,” explained coach Carey. “All but four or five points were from the foul line or second chance points. This was the first time we got behind that late and just started going behind one-on-one. We broke down all over the place. This should not happen with five seniors. I have to give them (Marquette) credit. They took it right to us.”
The Mountaineer scoring efforts were led by Liz Repella, who put up 15 points and grabbed two boards. She also led the team in the first half, shooting 5-of-6 from the field and 3-of-3 from beyond the arc. Madina Ali followed close behind, with 14 points and five rebounds, and Ayana Dunning rounded out the top three, with eight points and five rebounds in 20 minutes of play.
“I didn’t see a change from the first half to the second half; I just wasn’t hitting the shots like I was in the first half,” Repella said. “They play good defense, but there really wasn’t much of a change. We are getting back in the gym and we have to get after it. Our seniors, this is our last year, so we have to come back strong. We have to see what we’re going to do against Syracuse coming off this loss.”
Defensively, the team held Marquette to 30.8 percent (4-of-13) accuracy from beyond the arc, a range from which the Golden Eagles have always been deadly. Instead, it was the charity stripe that proved the advantage, as the team shot 87.1 percent (27-of-31) from the free throw line, scoring 27 points off of West Virginia fouls.
Sarah Miles led the Mountaineer defense in steals with three on the night, while Asya Bussie collected the lone block.
Marquette had four players score in the double-digits in the upset. Senior guard Angel Robinson led all players with 18 points, followed closely by sophomore forward Sarina Simmons who put up 14. Tatiyiana McMorris had 12 points and Paige Fiedorowicz rounded out the top four with ten.
“I’m not disappointed we lost; we weren’t going to go undefeated,” Carey said. “I’m disappointed in how we played in the loss. You’re going to lose some games, but I never thought we would lose composure like we did. We quit blocking out, quit playing defense and continued to put them at the foul line. The second half we just stood around. They got physical with us and we kind of folded and that’s not like us. We have to regroup because we have a tough game at home against Syracuse.”
The Mountaineers return to action at the Coliseum on Saturday, where they will play host to BIG EAST foe Syracuse. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. with MSNsportsNET.com providing live video and stats. The game will also be aired on WVPBS. Hoppy Kercheval will once again provide the play-by-play with former WVU basketball standout Warren Baker adding analysis.
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