Mountaineers Travel to Syracuse
December 06, 2011 03:49 PM | General
MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – The Carrier Dome hasn’t been kind to the West Virginia women’s basketball team over the years.
Despite holding a 5-4 overall series record when playing in Syracuse, the Mountaineers (5-2) are 1-2 all-time in the Carrier Dome, having dropped the last two contests there. They haven’t defeated the Orange (6-2) at home since Jan. 7, 2006.
Additionally, Syracuse currently boasts a home record of 58-25 since the 2006-07 season, and opened play this year undefeated at home with a 4-0 mark.
Coach Carey is well aware of these statistics.
“You look at our past and you can see we haven’t done too well there in the Carrier Dome. It’s a tough place to play and the reason it’s a tough place to play is because we’re playing Syracuse. We can’t make any excuses; we just have to worry about their players.”
Four Orange players boast double figure scoring averages heading into Wednesday’s game. Junior center Kayla Alexander leads the team with 20.0 points per game, the third highest average in the league. Behind Alexander, senior forward Iasia Hemingway averages 14.3 points per game, junior guard Carmen Tyson-Thomas averages 11.0 points per game and junior guard Elashier Hall averages 10.0 points per game.
But it isn’t just their ability to consistently find the open player for scoring opportunities that makes this team dangerous. They also rebound extremely well, leading the league in out-rebounding opponents.
They hold a positive 17.2 rebounding margin with 424 boards to opponents’ 286.
“If you look at the stats, they’re one of the top 10 in the country in rebounding, both offensively and defensively,” Carey explained. “My biggest concern right now is rebounding.”
In addition to her scoring abilities, Alexander also paces the team in rebounding, pulling down 8.9 boards per game, the fourth-best average in the BIG EAST. Sophomore guard Shakeya Leary follows with 7.5 rebounds per game, while Tyson-Thomas and Hall tie at 7.1 rebounds per game to round out the top four.
After winning six straight to open the season, the Orange most recently dropped a pair of games to Arizona and BYU at the Hukilau Invitational in Laie, Hawaii.
For the Mountaineers, the first BIG EAST game of the season presents a welcome challenge, and the opportunity to gauge where they’re at before conference play tips off in earnest in early January.
“I’m ready to go for it and I think everybody else is ready for it too,” said Jess Harlee. “We played Villanova this early last year and it was a great test for us so I think that it will be good for us again this year.”
Sophomore Taylor Palmer enters the game just behind Alexander in scoring average, with 18.3 points per game. She’s followed by junior center Asya Bussie and sophomore guard Christal Caldwell who score 11.7 and 7.6 points per game, respectively.
Defensively, West Virginia continues to hold all opponents this season to under 60 points and is hoping to do so against a strong Syracuse offense, which currently averages 76.9 points per game, the fourth highest scoring average in the BIG EAST.
The Mountaineers’ scoring defense allows just 46.3 points per game, the second best average in the BIG EAST and the second-best nationally.
Additionally, the team holds the league’s second-best and the nation’s fourth-best defensive field goal percentage, limiting opponents to only 30.2 percent from the field.
Junior center Ayana Dunning continues to lead the team’s rebounding efforts, with 7.7 boards per game. Behind Dunning, Bussie averages 7.3 rebounds per game, while Harlee pulls down 6.9 rebounds per game.
“Syracuse is very good basketball team and it’s going to be a tough one,” Carey concluded. “We just have to go play hard and see what happens.”
Wednesday’s tipoff is set for 7 p.m., with live stats provided by MSNsportsNET.com. The contest will also air live on MSN Radio with Travis Jones on the call.
Despite holding a 5-4 overall series record when playing in Syracuse, the Mountaineers (5-2) are 1-2 all-time in the Carrier Dome, having dropped the last two contests there. They haven’t defeated the Orange (6-2) at home since Jan. 7, 2006.
Additionally, Syracuse currently boasts a home record of 58-25 since the 2006-07 season, and opened play this year undefeated at home with a 4-0 mark.
Coach Carey is well aware of these statistics.
“You look at our past and you can see we haven’t done too well there in the Carrier Dome. It’s a tough place to play and the reason it’s a tough place to play is because we’re playing Syracuse. We can’t make any excuses; we just have to worry about their players.”
Four Orange players boast double figure scoring averages heading into Wednesday’s game. Junior center Kayla Alexander leads the team with 20.0 points per game, the third highest average in the league. Behind Alexander, senior forward Iasia Hemingway averages 14.3 points per game, junior guard Carmen Tyson-Thomas averages 11.0 points per game and junior guard Elashier Hall averages 10.0 points per game.
But it isn’t just their ability to consistently find the open player for scoring opportunities that makes this team dangerous. They also rebound extremely well, leading the league in out-rebounding opponents.
They hold a positive 17.2 rebounding margin with 424 boards to opponents’ 286.
“If you look at the stats, they’re one of the top 10 in the country in rebounding, both offensively and defensively,” Carey explained. “My biggest concern right now is rebounding.”
In addition to her scoring abilities, Alexander also paces the team in rebounding, pulling down 8.9 boards per game, the fourth-best average in the BIG EAST. Sophomore guard Shakeya Leary follows with 7.5 rebounds per game, while Tyson-Thomas and Hall tie at 7.1 rebounds per game to round out the top four.
After winning six straight to open the season, the Orange most recently dropped a pair of games to Arizona and BYU at the Hukilau Invitational in Laie, Hawaii.
For the Mountaineers, the first BIG EAST game of the season presents a welcome challenge, and the opportunity to gauge where they’re at before conference play tips off in earnest in early January.
“I’m ready to go for it and I think everybody else is ready for it too,” said Jess Harlee. “We played Villanova this early last year and it was a great test for us so I think that it will be good for us again this year.”
Sophomore Taylor Palmer enters the game just behind Alexander in scoring average, with 18.3 points per game. She’s followed by junior center Asya Bussie and sophomore guard Christal Caldwell who score 11.7 and 7.6 points per game, respectively.
Defensively, West Virginia continues to hold all opponents this season to under 60 points and is hoping to do so against a strong Syracuse offense, which currently averages 76.9 points per game, the fourth highest scoring average in the BIG EAST.
The Mountaineers’ scoring defense allows just 46.3 points per game, the second best average in the BIG EAST and the second-best nationally.
Additionally, the team holds the league’s second-best and the nation’s fourth-best defensive field goal percentage, limiting opponents to only 30.2 percent from the field.
Junior center Ayana Dunning continues to lead the team’s rebounding efforts, with 7.7 boards per game. Behind Dunning, Bussie averages 7.3 rebounds per game, while Harlee pulls down 6.9 rebounds per game.
“Syracuse is very good basketball team and it’s going to be a tough one,” Carey concluded. “We just have to go play hard and see what happens.”
Wednesday’s tipoff is set for 7 p.m., with live stats provided by MSNsportsNET.com. The contest will also air live on MSN Radio with Travis Jones on the call.
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