Mountaineers Defeated by Cardinals
February 13, 2011 08:59 PM | General
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The 17th ranked West Virginia women’s basketball team was defeated by Louisville, 57-47, on Sunday night at the KFC Yum! Center.
Coach Mike Carey and his team knew the importance of winning this game, and they came out fighting. The first half saw West Virginia out-rebound Louisville, 24-13, and go on a 9-0 scoring run to take the lead, 20-15, with 4:44 remaining in the half. Yet foul trouble and a continuously struggling offense prevented the Mountaineers (20-6, 6-6 BIG EAST) from capitalizing further, as Louisville forward Sheronne Vails made two free throws to help the Cardinals (16-9, 7-4 BIG EAST) take the 23-22 lead into the half.
“We played for about 25 minutes and we quit executing on both ends," said Carey.
By halftime, three Mountaineers had more than one foul, including leading scorer Liz Repella, who went into the locker room with three personal fouls hanging over her head. Asya Bussie, Ayana Dunning and Madina Ali joined Repella in personal foul trouble before the half, each with two fouls.
Foul trouble would continue to follow West Virginia into the second half, as Repella found herself fouling out for the first time this season with 3:53 remaining in the game. From that point on, the Mountaineers’ offensive troubles only increased and they were unable to erase a nine-point deficit to challenge the Cardinals for the win.
Louisville shot 37.8 percent (17-of-45) from field goal range and 60 percent (6-of-10) from beyond the arc. In addition, they shot 81 percent (17-of-21) from free throw range. They also scored an additional 17 points off of West Virginia turnovers to effectively dominate the Mountaineers.
Despite outscoring the Cardinals in the paint, on second chance points, and on the fast break, West Virginia’s offense only shot 26 percent (13-of-50) from field goal range and a mere 8.3 percent (1-of-12) from 3-point range. They shot an additional 74.1 percent (20-of-27) from the charity stripe, but it wasn’t enough to overcome a strong Louisville offense.
Freshman guard Shoni Schimmel led the Cardinals in scoring, with 17 points including three crucial 3-pointers. She was followed by sophomore guard Tia Gibbs who scored 11, and junior guard Becky Burke, who had 10.
The Mountaineers were led by Ali, who posted 12 points, including 8-of-9 from the free throw line. She was followed by Dunning, who chipped in 11 from the paint. Korinne Campbell rounded out the top three scorers, adding six points.
The loss marked the first regular-season loss to Louisville in the all-time series. Additionally, West Virginia’s 47 points was its second-lowest point total this season and marked the sixth straight game they failed to score more than 60 points.
WVU returns to action for round two of the Backyard Brawl at Pitt, Saturday, Feb. 19 at 2 p.m. The game is the third time this season West Virginia will support breast cancer awareness as it is a Pink Zone event.
Coach Mike Carey and his team knew the importance of winning this game, and they came out fighting. The first half saw West Virginia out-rebound Louisville, 24-13, and go on a 9-0 scoring run to take the lead, 20-15, with 4:44 remaining in the half. Yet foul trouble and a continuously struggling offense prevented the Mountaineers (20-6, 6-6 BIG EAST) from capitalizing further, as Louisville forward Sheronne Vails made two free throws to help the Cardinals (16-9, 7-4 BIG EAST) take the 23-22 lead into the half.
“We played for about 25 minutes and we quit executing on both ends," said Carey.
By halftime, three Mountaineers had more than one foul, including leading scorer Liz Repella, who went into the locker room with three personal fouls hanging over her head. Asya Bussie, Ayana Dunning and Madina Ali joined Repella in personal foul trouble before the half, each with two fouls.
Foul trouble would continue to follow West Virginia into the second half, as Repella found herself fouling out for the first time this season with 3:53 remaining in the game. From that point on, the Mountaineers’ offensive troubles only increased and they were unable to erase a nine-point deficit to challenge the Cardinals for the win.
Louisville shot 37.8 percent (17-of-45) from field goal range and 60 percent (6-of-10) from beyond the arc. In addition, they shot 81 percent (17-of-21) from free throw range. They also scored an additional 17 points off of West Virginia turnovers to effectively dominate the Mountaineers.
Despite outscoring the Cardinals in the paint, on second chance points, and on the fast break, West Virginia’s offense only shot 26 percent (13-of-50) from field goal range and a mere 8.3 percent (1-of-12) from 3-point range. They shot an additional 74.1 percent (20-of-27) from the charity stripe, but it wasn’t enough to overcome a strong Louisville offense.
Freshman guard Shoni Schimmel led the Cardinals in scoring, with 17 points including three crucial 3-pointers. She was followed by sophomore guard Tia Gibbs who scored 11, and junior guard Becky Burke, who had 10.
The Mountaineers were led by Ali, who posted 12 points, including 8-of-9 from the free throw line. She was followed by Dunning, who chipped in 11 from the paint. Korinne Campbell rounded out the top three scorers, adding six points.
The loss marked the first regular-season loss to Louisville in the all-time series. Additionally, West Virginia’s 47 points was its second-lowest point total this season and marked the sixth straight game they failed to score more than 60 points.
WVU returns to action for round two of the Backyard Brawl at Pitt, Saturday, Feb. 19 at 2 p.m. The game is the third time this season West Virginia will support breast cancer awareness as it is a Pink Zone event.
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