WVU Women Host La Salle
November 29, 2011 07:46 PM | General
MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – There’s no denying that the West Virginia women’s basketball team’s 48-47 loss to Cal State Northridge at the 2011 Woodland Hills Holiday Inn Thanksgiving Classic this past weekend was a heartbreaker.
Down by four, 48-44, with 1:44 remaining in regulation, sophomore Taylor Palmer sunk a three to bring the Mountaineers (3-2) within two points of the lead. It was just shy of enough, however, and West Virginia would be unable to come away with the win.
The night before, the team had pulled off a confidence boosting 63-54 upset over No. 25 UCLA.
“We were playing on that team’s home court in front of their home crowd and they had something to prove,” coach Carey explained. “They came out and played harder than we did in the first half. I thought the second half we played very, very hard, we just didn’t hit shots.”
Missing key shots has been the story of November for this young squad. While Carey doesn’t like to continue to use that excuse, the fact remains that a lack of experience has been the main reason the team has struggled over the past month.
“We just have to get better,” he said. “It’s my job to get this turned around and try to put us in positions where it’s easier for us to score and try to take the thought process out a little bit more. Those are things we have to work on.”
The Mountaineers will be working on their offense during practice as they prepare to host LaSalle on Wednesday night at the Coliseum in a 7 p.m. tip.
The Explorers (2-5) are looking to bounce back from a two-game losing skid of their own, after falling to Florida, 85-74, and at Long Island, 69-53, at the Courtyard LaGuardia Turkey Classic last week.
La Salle is led in scoring by junior guard Alexis Scott, who sat out last season due to NCAA transfer rules as she transferred from Monmouth. She came off the bench in the last outing against Long Island to lead the Explorers with 13 points. She posted 16 against Florida in the tournament’s first game.
Currently, she averages 12.3 points per game on 54.5 percent (36-66) shooting from the field.
Freshman guard/forward Jada Payne is the second-leading scorer on the team as she averages 10.1 points per game. She’s followed by freshman guard Jordan Mosley who rounds out the top three scorers with an average of 9.3 points per game.
“Their strength is their guards,” said Carey. “They play four guards most of the game so they’re going to be up the lane and double and triple teaming. They play a 2-3 zone, they play man and they press a little bit.”
Defensively, the Explorers are led by freshman forward Ruvanna Campbell as she averages 7.1 rebounds per game and has collected 20 blocks this season.
The key to this game for the Mountaineers will be shooting consistency.
“We have to be more efficient when teams are sagging and when teams are double and triple teaming,” Carey elaborated. “They’re not going to leave Asya (Bussie) and Ayana (Dunning) in there one-on-one. I always tell our guards that there’s a reason they’re open.”
Palmer currently leads West Virginia in scoring, averaging 18.4 points per game and leading the team in 3-pointers made this season with 34. She was named to the Woodland Hills Holiday Inn Thanksgiving Classic all-tournament team with 36 points in two games.
She’s followed by Bussie who averages 9.4 points per game, and Jessica Harlee who averages 8.4.
Defensively, the Mountaineers have held all five opponents this season to under 60 points and hold the league’s best defensive field goal percentage, limiting opponents to only 27.2 percent from the field.
Dunning paces the team in rebounding as she averages 9.0 boards per game, the fifth-highest average in the league. Bussie leads the team in blocked shots this season with 10, while averaging 7.6 rebounds per game, and Harlee leads the team in steals with 12.
Live video and stats for Wednesday’s game will be provided by MSNsportsNet.com.
Down by four, 48-44, with 1:44 remaining in regulation, sophomore Taylor Palmer sunk a three to bring the Mountaineers (3-2) within two points of the lead. It was just shy of enough, however, and West Virginia would be unable to come away with the win.
The night before, the team had pulled off a confidence boosting 63-54 upset over No. 25 UCLA.
“We were playing on that team’s home court in front of their home crowd and they had something to prove,” coach Carey explained. “They came out and played harder than we did in the first half. I thought the second half we played very, very hard, we just didn’t hit shots.”
Missing key shots has been the story of November for this young squad. While Carey doesn’t like to continue to use that excuse, the fact remains that a lack of experience has been the main reason the team has struggled over the past month.
“We just have to get better,” he said. “It’s my job to get this turned around and try to put us in positions where it’s easier for us to score and try to take the thought process out a little bit more. Those are things we have to work on.”
The Mountaineers will be working on their offense during practice as they prepare to host LaSalle on Wednesday night at the Coliseum in a 7 p.m. tip.
The Explorers (2-5) are looking to bounce back from a two-game losing skid of their own, after falling to Florida, 85-74, and at Long Island, 69-53, at the Courtyard LaGuardia Turkey Classic last week.
La Salle is led in scoring by junior guard Alexis Scott, who sat out last season due to NCAA transfer rules as she transferred from Monmouth. She came off the bench in the last outing against Long Island to lead the Explorers with 13 points. She posted 16 against Florida in the tournament’s first game.
Currently, she averages 12.3 points per game on 54.5 percent (36-66) shooting from the field.
Freshman guard/forward Jada Payne is the second-leading scorer on the team as she averages 10.1 points per game. She’s followed by freshman guard Jordan Mosley who rounds out the top three scorers with an average of 9.3 points per game.
“Their strength is their guards,” said Carey. “They play four guards most of the game so they’re going to be up the lane and double and triple teaming. They play a 2-3 zone, they play man and they press a little bit.”
Defensively, the Explorers are led by freshman forward Ruvanna Campbell as she averages 7.1 rebounds per game and has collected 20 blocks this season.
The key to this game for the Mountaineers will be shooting consistency.
“We have to be more efficient when teams are sagging and when teams are double and triple teaming,” Carey elaborated. “They’re not going to leave Asya (Bussie) and Ayana (Dunning) in there one-on-one. I always tell our guards that there’s a reason they’re open.”
Palmer currently leads West Virginia in scoring, averaging 18.4 points per game and leading the team in 3-pointers made this season with 34. She was named to the Woodland Hills Holiday Inn Thanksgiving Classic all-tournament team with 36 points in two games.
She’s followed by Bussie who averages 9.4 points per game, and Jessica Harlee who averages 8.4.
Defensively, the Mountaineers have held all five opponents this season to under 60 points and hold the league’s best defensive field goal percentage, limiting opponents to only 27.2 percent from the field.
Dunning paces the team in rebounding as she averages 9.0 boards per game, the fifth-highest average in the league. Bussie leads the team in blocked shots this season with 10, while averaging 7.6 rebounds per game, and Harlee leads the team in steals with 12.
Live video and stats for Wednesday’s game will be provided by MSNsportsNet.com.
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