WVU Women Prepare to Face Rutgers
February 25, 2011 05:31 PM | General
MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – The No. 19 West Virginia women’s basketball team will travel to Piscataway, N.J. on Saturday afternoon to face Rutgers in a 2 p.m. tip at the Louis Brown Athletic Center.
The Mountaineers (21-7, 7-7 BE) are coming off of a 72-60 loss to No. 8 Notre Dame at the Coliseum on Tuesday evening, and are hoping to turn things around with a win at Rutgers. Earning this much needed win could provide momentum going into senior night against St. John’s on Monday evening, and give the team a boost heading into Big East Tournament play, which opens on Friday, March 4.
In contrast, the Scarlet Knights (16-11, 9-5 BE) enter the contest coming off of two strong wins last week, one at Marquette, 76-55, and one against USF, 52-46, at home. Rutgers currently holds an 11-1 home record, with the team’s only home loss coming against No. 1 Connecticut, on Jan. 26.
“It (the RAC) gets great crowds and it is a tough place to play because the crowd is right up on you,” said coach Carey. “They do get great crowds. Everybody is into the women’s game as much as they are the men’s game.”
Three players average in the double figures for Rutgers, including junior guard/forward April Sykes, who posts an average of 13.0 points per game. She’s followed by redshirt-junior guard Khadijah Rushdan and sophomore forward/center Monique Oliver, who average 12.4 and 11.8 points per game, respectively. In addition to her scoring efforts, Oliver also leads the team in blocks (60), a statistic that places her in second place in the Big East.
“They play two posts inside and then they go with their three guards,” Carey explained. “They only play six or seven people. All starting five are playing over 35 minutes per game. They are playing a little bit more zone this year than they did last year because they’re playing the two big post girls together.”
Junior forward Chelsey Lee leads Rutgers’ efforts in rebounding, pulling down an average of 7.3 boards per game, while sophomore guard Erica Wheeler leads the team in steals (48). As a team, the Scarlet Knights average 61 points per game, 34.9 rebounds per game, and shoot 42.8 percent from the field.
“They’re a really physical team and they defend,” said Liz Repella. “They’re like us, so we just have to match our physicality. Getting them in foul trouble is critical.”
West Virginia has been struggling to put points on the board recently, resulting in six losses out of the teams’ past eight games, and placing the team on the bubble for making the NCAA Tournament.
“I’ve told them that we’re on the bubble,” Carey said. “There’s no use beating around the bush, we’re on the bubble. We have to win. It’s big. We have to want this game more than Rutgers wants this game. And it’s the same way with St. John’s, we have to finish the season off. I don’t usually talk about this stuff but I do now because they need to know. We either win or we go to the WNIT. That’s basically what it’s going to be.”
The Mountaineers have been led in scoring all season by Repella and Madina Ali, who each average 13.5 points per game.
Sarah Miles and Asya Bussie have also been stepping up their performances lately, averaging 8.2 and 7.7 points per game, respectively. Against Notre Dame, Miles had 16 points and five assists. Last Saturday against Pitt, she posted a season-high 19 points, while Bussie posted 16 points of her own.
Defensively, the Mountaineers remain a solid squad. Repella and Ali lead in steals, with 57 and 50, respectively. Ali also leads the team in rebounding, collecting 7.0 boards per game, while Bussie continues to lead the team in blocking, with 45 blocks on the season. In addition, West Virginia continues to hold all opponents to under 50 percent shooting from the field, allowing an average of only 51.3 points per game.
“We’re really excited,” said Ali. “Coach has been stressing so much the things that we need to get done and I think we all have set in our head what our goals are. We might have lost focus because we’ve been down and out but we got ourselves here and we need to dig ourselves out of it.”
The last time the two teams met was during the 2010 Big East Tournament. West Virginia defeated No. 6 seeded Rutgers, 56-49, at the XL Center in Hartford, Conn. to earn a spot in the finals against eventual champion Connecticut. Despite this most recent win, WVU still trails in the all-time series, 38-12.
The contest will be broadcast on MSN radio with Travis Jones and Jay Jacobs providing commentary and analysis.
The Mountaineers (21-7, 7-7 BE) are coming off of a 72-60 loss to No. 8 Notre Dame at the Coliseum on Tuesday evening, and are hoping to turn things around with a win at Rutgers. Earning this much needed win could provide momentum going into senior night against St. John’s on Monday evening, and give the team a boost heading into Big East Tournament play, which opens on Friday, March 4.
In contrast, the Scarlet Knights (16-11, 9-5 BE) enter the contest coming off of two strong wins last week, one at Marquette, 76-55, and one against USF, 52-46, at home. Rutgers currently holds an 11-1 home record, with the team’s only home loss coming against No. 1 Connecticut, on Jan. 26.
“It (the RAC) gets great crowds and it is a tough place to play because the crowd is right up on you,” said coach Carey. “They do get great crowds. Everybody is into the women’s game as much as they are the men’s game.”
Three players average in the double figures for Rutgers, including junior guard/forward April Sykes, who posts an average of 13.0 points per game. She’s followed by redshirt-junior guard Khadijah Rushdan and sophomore forward/center Monique Oliver, who average 12.4 and 11.8 points per game, respectively. In addition to her scoring efforts, Oliver also leads the team in blocks (60), a statistic that places her in second place in the Big East.
“They play two posts inside and then they go with their three guards,” Carey explained. “They only play six or seven people. All starting five are playing over 35 minutes per game. They are playing a little bit more zone this year than they did last year because they’re playing the two big post girls together.”
Junior forward Chelsey Lee leads Rutgers’ efforts in rebounding, pulling down an average of 7.3 boards per game, while sophomore guard Erica Wheeler leads the team in steals (48). As a team, the Scarlet Knights average 61 points per game, 34.9 rebounds per game, and shoot 42.8 percent from the field.
“They’re a really physical team and they defend,” said Liz Repella. “They’re like us, so we just have to match our physicality. Getting them in foul trouble is critical.”
West Virginia has been struggling to put points on the board recently, resulting in six losses out of the teams’ past eight games, and placing the team on the bubble for making the NCAA Tournament.
“I’ve told them that we’re on the bubble,” Carey said. “There’s no use beating around the bush, we’re on the bubble. We have to win. It’s big. We have to want this game more than Rutgers wants this game. And it’s the same way with St. John’s, we have to finish the season off. I don’t usually talk about this stuff but I do now because they need to know. We either win or we go to the WNIT. That’s basically what it’s going to be.”
The Mountaineers have been led in scoring all season by Repella and Madina Ali, who each average 13.5 points per game.
Sarah Miles and Asya Bussie have also been stepping up their performances lately, averaging 8.2 and 7.7 points per game, respectively. Against Notre Dame, Miles had 16 points and five assists. Last Saturday against Pitt, she posted a season-high 19 points, while Bussie posted 16 points of her own.
Defensively, the Mountaineers remain a solid squad. Repella and Ali lead in steals, with 57 and 50, respectively. Ali also leads the team in rebounding, collecting 7.0 boards per game, while Bussie continues to lead the team in blocking, with 45 blocks on the season. In addition, West Virginia continues to hold all opponents to under 50 percent shooting from the field, allowing an average of only 51.3 points per game.
“We’re really excited,” said Ali. “Coach has been stressing so much the things that we need to get done and I think we all have set in our head what our goals are. We might have lost focus because we’ve been down and out but we got ourselves here and we need to dig ourselves out of it.”
The last time the two teams met was during the 2010 Big East Tournament. West Virginia defeated No. 6 seeded Rutgers, 56-49, at the XL Center in Hartford, Conn. to earn a spot in the finals against eventual champion Connecticut. Despite this most recent win, WVU still trails in the all-time series, 38-12.
The contest will be broadcast on MSN radio with Travis Jones and Jay Jacobs providing commentary and analysis.
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