WVU Women Set to Open Season
November 02, 2011 10:33 AM | General
MORGANTOWN, W. Va. - Tonight, the West Virginia women’s basketball team will tip off its season with a home exhibition game against Wheeling Jesuit at 7 p.m.
The Mountaineers have been working hard towards creating a team that can live up to the standards of the past two years. The talent is there, but with five seniors having graduated in May the remaining returners are going to have to step up and the new players are going to need to make the adjustment to WVU basketball.
The team is young this year, featuring four true freshmen in Akilah Bethel, Averee Fields, Crystal Leary, and Linda Stepney. Stepney suffered a preseason stress fracture and will be out of action for the beginning of the season, but coach Mike Carey believes that the freshman will play a huge role for the team when she returns.
“The sooner we get her back, the better the team will be,” Carey said.
Sophomore guard Brooke Hampton leads the Mountaineers at point. No stranger to stepping in for injured teammates, Hampton will start the year in much the same spot as she was last year when she took over starting duties for an injured Sarah Miles.
Last year, Hampton earned nine starts for the Mountaineers, and played in 33 games overall. She averaged 12.7 minutes per game and led the team with an assist/turnover ratio of 2.4, recording 65 assists to only 27 turnovers.
“Both of them can score,” Carey said. “That’s something we have this year that we haven’t had in a long time, two scoring point guards. I do think it’s going to be beneficial when Linda is back.”
Carey is very pleased with how the team has been practicing as everyone has been playing hard. He’s hoping to distribute time on the court more equally this season because each player truly has something great to bring to the game.
“I don’t think we have anybody specifically that’s going to come and score 20 points in a game,” he said. “I think it’s going to be a combination of the team. Whoever has the hot hand that day will see the most playing time.”
Junior center Asya Bussie is no stranger to those hot hands. Bussie, one of two team captains this year, averaged 8.2 points per game during the 2010-11 season, currently holding the highest scoring average on the team. She also led the team in blocked shots with an impressive 54 blocks as a sophomore, the second most for any sophomore in West Virginia history. Even with such statistics, Carey believes those numbers will increase this season.
“Asya is one of the best players in the program,” he detailed. “She didn’t have the chance to put up bigger numbers last year because we had a lot of seniors on the perimeter. I think this year we’re going to see a different Asya Bussie.”
Bussie is a natural leader, and she and sophomore captain Jess Harlee are the most verbal players on the team. Along with lone senior Natalie Burton, the three help lead and motivate both the returning and new players.
Burton currently has the most experience on the team, playing in 96 games as a Mountaineer. Last year, she led the team with a 60.5 field goal percentage (26-of-43) and totaled 55 points and 37 rebounds, 23 of which were offensive boards.
Other key returning players include sophomore guards Christal Caldwell and Taylor Palmer along with junior center Ayana Dunning, all three with postseason experience.
Caldwell, a transfer from Florida, was unable to play last year due to NCAA transfer rules. However, she spent the past year practicing with the team and was second on the squad in scoring during this past summer’s brief European tour that featured one game against France’s AMW All-Stars and two games against the Dutch National Team.
Carey is looking to begin this season in a similar fashion to how the 2010-11 season began. The Mountaineers won their first 16 consecutive games last year, the best start to a season in program history. The team ended the season with a 24-10 record.
“Early on, we have to be able to get some easy points and some steals and get the break going,” he said.
Last season marked the fourth time in five years that the team finished with at least 20 wins. Carey’s team ended the season 8-8 in the BIG EAST Conference, earning a trip to the NCAA Tournament where it upset Houston, 79-73, in the first round before being ousted by Baylor, 82-68.
All-in-all, Carey is pleased with the current performance of his team on and off the court.
“We’ve come a long way, but we still have a long way to go,” he concluded. “I’m encouraged by the team’s work ethic and their attitudes. They want to get better and our freshmen are getting used to the way I coach. I like where we’re at right now.”
Admission for Wednesday’s game is free and open to the public.
The Mountaineers will open up the regular season at home against Youngstown State on Friday, Nov. 11 at 6:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN3.
The Mountaineers have been working hard towards creating a team that can live up to the standards of the past two years. The talent is there, but with five seniors having graduated in May the remaining returners are going to have to step up and the new players are going to need to make the adjustment to WVU basketball.
The team is young this year, featuring four true freshmen in Akilah Bethel, Averee Fields, Crystal Leary, and Linda Stepney. Stepney suffered a preseason stress fracture and will be out of action for the beginning of the season, but coach Mike Carey believes that the freshman will play a huge role for the team when she returns.
“The sooner we get her back, the better the team will be,” Carey said.
Sophomore guard Brooke Hampton leads the Mountaineers at point. No stranger to stepping in for injured teammates, Hampton will start the year in much the same spot as she was last year when she took over starting duties for an injured Sarah Miles.
Last year, Hampton earned nine starts for the Mountaineers, and played in 33 games overall. She averaged 12.7 minutes per game and led the team with an assist/turnover ratio of 2.4, recording 65 assists to only 27 turnovers.
“Both of them can score,” Carey said. “That’s something we have this year that we haven’t had in a long time, two scoring point guards. I do think it’s going to be beneficial when Linda is back.”
Carey is very pleased with how the team has been practicing as everyone has been playing hard. He’s hoping to distribute time on the court more equally this season because each player truly has something great to bring to the game.
“I don’t think we have anybody specifically that’s going to come and score 20 points in a game,” he said. “I think it’s going to be a combination of the team. Whoever has the hot hand that day will see the most playing time.”
Junior center Asya Bussie is no stranger to those hot hands. Bussie, one of two team captains this year, averaged 8.2 points per game during the 2010-11 season, currently holding the highest scoring average on the team. She also led the team in blocked shots with an impressive 54 blocks as a sophomore, the second most for any sophomore in West Virginia history. Even with such statistics, Carey believes those numbers will increase this season.
“Asya is one of the best players in the program,” he detailed. “She didn’t have the chance to put up bigger numbers last year because we had a lot of seniors on the perimeter. I think this year we’re going to see a different Asya Bussie.”
Bussie is a natural leader, and she and sophomore captain Jess Harlee are the most verbal players on the team. Along with lone senior Natalie Burton, the three help lead and motivate both the returning and new players.
Burton currently has the most experience on the team, playing in 96 games as a Mountaineer. Last year, she led the team with a 60.5 field goal percentage (26-of-43) and totaled 55 points and 37 rebounds, 23 of which were offensive boards.
Other key returning players include sophomore guards Christal Caldwell and Taylor Palmer along with junior center Ayana Dunning, all three with postseason experience.
Caldwell, a transfer from Florida, was unable to play last year due to NCAA transfer rules. However, she spent the past year practicing with the team and was second on the squad in scoring during this past summer’s brief European tour that featured one game against France’s AMW All-Stars and two games against the Dutch National Team.
Carey is looking to begin this season in a similar fashion to how the 2010-11 season began. The Mountaineers won their first 16 consecutive games last year, the best start to a season in program history. The team ended the season with a 24-10 record.
“Early on, we have to be able to get some easy points and some steals and get the break going,” he said.
Last season marked the fourth time in five years that the team finished with at least 20 wins. Carey’s team ended the season 8-8 in the BIG EAST Conference, earning a trip to the NCAA Tournament where it upset Houston, 79-73, in the first round before being ousted by Baylor, 82-68.
All-in-all, Carey is pleased with the current performance of his team on and off the court.
“We’ve come a long way, but we still have a long way to go,” he concluded. “I’m encouraged by the team’s work ethic and their attitudes. They want to get better and our freshmen are getting used to the way I coach. I like where we’re at right now.”
Admission for Wednesday’s game is free and open to the public.
The Mountaineers will open up the regular season at home against Youngstown State on Friday, Nov. 11 at 6:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN3.
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