Mountaineers Collect Crucial Win
February 19, 2011 06:50 PM | General
PITTSBURGH – Led by senior co-captain Madina Ali’s 21 points, No. 21 West Virginia won round two of the Backyard Brawl, defeating Pitt 90-79 on Saturday afternoon at the Petersen Events Center.
After going through a three game losing streak, coach Mike Carey knew that his team was low in confidence. He decided to stress offense to his players in practice this week, telling them to take shots whenever they could get a good look. It was a strategy that paid off as five Mountaineers (21-6, 7-6 BIG EAST) scored in the double-digits against rival Pitt.
Ali led the team with her eighth double-double of the season, notching 13 rebounds in addition to her high scoring efforts. She was followed by guard Sarah Miles, who posted a season-high 19 points while pulling down six boards and dishing out nine assists. Sophomore center Asya Bussie contributed 16 points and six rebounds in the win, while Liz Repella scored 15. Vanessa House rounded out the top five with a season-high 11 points.
“We had five players in double figures and we hadn’t had that all year and the reason was because we pushed the ball up,” said coach Mike Carey. “We had 21 assists, and I think that’s the most we’ve had all year. That’s what we have to do every game.”
“We really can score,” added Ali. “A lot of us were able to be aggressive on the offensive end and that helped us a lot. It’s really important to stay aggressive at all times because you never know their shot blocker so you have to go ahead and stay aggressive and be comfortable.”
Which is what the Mountaineers did, building an early lead against the Panthers (13-13, 5-8 BIG EAST) and taking a 15-point lead into the half. They shot 51.4 percent (18-of-35) from field goal range and took advantage of charity point opportunities by shooting 88.9 percent (8-of-9) from the free throw line. In addition, they played solid defense only allowing Pitt to pick up one offensive rebound for the entirety of the first half.
Overall, West Virginia looked like itself again in the victory, winning nearly every statistical battle. The team out-rebounded Pitt, 41-34, and forced 15 Panther turnovers while only giving up ten of their own. Additionally, the team scored 52 points in the paint as opposed to Pitt’s 30, and put up 24 fast break points in comparison to Pitt’s six.
In fact, the only area that the Mountaineers seemed to struggle in was fouling. West Virginia dominated the Panthers for the majority of the game, leading Pitt by 18 points with 12:20 remaining. Yet they allowed the Panthers to pull back within ten due to foul trouble. Senior guard Taneisha Harrison scored 28 total points against the Mountaineers, 11 of which came from the free throw line. Overall, the Panthers scored 28 points off of West Virginia fouls.
“I thought we came out and ran the floor really well, especially in the first half, and in the second half we couldn’t get a running game going because we kept fouling,” Carey said. “They scored a lot of points at the foul line. I give our girls a lot of credit because they played hard; we just have to play smarter down the stretch. They start fouling us and we hit enough foul shots, but if it was closer it would have been critical because we missed a lot of them.”
Behind Harrison, senior guard Jania Sims posted 11 points.
The Mountaineers’ 18 first half field goals were the most field goals they’ve made in a half in BIG EAST Conference play this season, while their field goal total (31) surpassed their previous season high of 27.
With the win, Carey now has 200 career victories with West Virginia, and he now holds a 200-113 record in his tenth season.
The Mountaineers return to action at the Coliseum on Tuesday, Feb. 22 when they play host to No. 8 Notre Dame in a game that will be televised by CBS College Sports.
After going through a three game losing streak, coach Mike Carey knew that his team was low in confidence. He decided to stress offense to his players in practice this week, telling them to take shots whenever they could get a good look. It was a strategy that paid off as five Mountaineers (21-6, 7-6 BIG EAST) scored in the double-digits against rival Pitt.
Ali led the team with her eighth double-double of the season, notching 13 rebounds in addition to her high scoring efforts. She was followed by guard Sarah Miles, who posted a season-high 19 points while pulling down six boards and dishing out nine assists. Sophomore center Asya Bussie contributed 16 points and six rebounds in the win, while Liz Repella scored 15. Vanessa House rounded out the top five with a season-high 11 points.
“We had five players in double figures and we hadn’t had that all year and the reason was because we pushed the ball up,” said coach Mike Carey. “We had 21 assists, and I think that’s the most we’ve had all year. That’s what we have to do every game.”
“We really can score,” added Ali. “A lot of us were able to be aggressive on the offensive end and that helped us a lot. It’s really important to stay aggressive at all times because you never know their shot blocker so you have to go ahead and stay aggressive and be comfortable.”
Which is what the Mountaineers did, building an early lead against the Panthers (13-13, 5-8 BIG EAST) and taking a 15-point lead into the half. They shot 51.4 percent (18-of-35) from field goal range and took advantage of charity point opportunities by shooting 88.9 percent (8-of-9) from the free throw line. In addition, they played solid defense only allowing Pitt to pick up one offensive rebound for the entirety of the first half.
Overall, West Virginia looked like itself again in the victory, winning nearly every statistical battle. The team out-rebounded Pitt, 41-34, and forced 15 Panther turnovers while only giving up ten of their own. Additionally, the team scored 52 points in the paint as opposed to Pitt’s 30, and put up 24 fast break points in comparison to Pitt’s six.
In fact, the only area that the Mountaineers seemed to struggle in was fouling. West Virginia dominated the Panthers for the majority of the game, leading Pitt by 18 points with 12:20 remaining. Yet they allowed the Panthers to pull back within ten due to foul trouble. Senior guard Taneisha Harrison scored 28 total points against the Mountaineers, 11 of which came from the free throw line. Overall, the Panthers scored 28 points off of West Virginia fouls.
“I thought we came out and ran the floor really well, especially in the first half, and in the second half we couldn’t get a running game going because we kept fouling,” Carey said. “They scored a lot of points at the foul line. I give our girls a lot of credit because they played hard; we just have to play smarter down the stretch. They start fouling us and we hit enough foul shots, but if it was closer it would have been critical because we missed a lot of them.”
Behind Harrison, senior guard Jania Sims posted 11 points.
The Mountaineers’ 18 first half field goals were the most field goals they’ve made in a half in BIG EAST Conference play this season, while their field goal total (31) surpassed their previous season high of 27.
With the win, Carey now has 200 career victories with West Virginia, and he now holds a 200-113 record in his tenth season.
The Mountaineers return to action at the Coliseum on Tuesday, Feb. 22 when they play host to No. 8 Notre Dame in a game that will be televised by CBS College Sports.
TV Highlights | Big 12 Baseball Tournament Semifinal
Saturday, May 23
Steve Sabins, Brodie Kresser, Sean Smith | Arizona State Postgame
Saturday, May 23
TV Highlights: Big 12 Baseball Tournament Quarterfinal
Friday, May 22
Steve Sabins, Gavin Kelly, Maxx Yehl | Kansas State Postgame
Friday, May 22
