West Virginia Drops Heartbreaker
February 26, 2011 05:43 PM | General
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The No. 19 West Virginia women’s basketball team lost a heartbreaker to Rutgers, 67-58, on Saturday afternoon at the Louis Brown Athletic Center.
Leading the game, 50-47, with six minutes to go, the Mountaineers (21-8, 7-8 BE) had slim margin for error. A layup by Rutgers’ forward Chelsey Lee put the Scarlet Knights (17-11, 10-5 BE) only one point away from the tie. A costly West Virginia turnover then led to the opportunity for guard Erica Wheeler to sink a 3-pointer, giving Rutgers the lead, 52-50, for the first time in the game.
The two teams would continue to battle it out. A layup from Madina Ali would tie the game at 52, but she was answered by a jumper from Wheeler that would once again put Rutgers ahead. A crucial 3-point shot from Liz Repella put the Mountaineers ahead 56-55 with 3:20 left in the game, but free throws from Lee and guard Khadijah Rushdan cemented the lead for the Scarlet Knights, 61-56.
At this point, with under a minute left in the game, the Mountaineers were forced to continue fouling and were unable to recover the lead.
“They made plays down the stretch and we didn't,” said coach Carey. “Our girls played so hard and we didn't even get to the 1-in-1 until the final 30 seconds. We were getting banged when we were driving and no calls. They were getting those calls so give them credit because they were getting the calls and kept driving us. We just didn't make the plays down the stretch.”
Despite the loss, the contest saw solid performances from several Mountaineer players. Repella led the squad in scoring, posting 20 points. She also grabbed five rebounds, two blocks and one steal. Korinne Campbell followed in scoring, with a season-high 14 points in addition to four rebounds and four steals. Sarah Miles rounded out the top three, with seven points and five assists on the day.
At game’s end, Rutgers and West Virginia split the statistics evenly in nearly every category. Rutgers posted ten steals in contrast to five from the Mountaineers, and only turned the ball over nine times. The Scarlet Knights also had ten assists in comparison to eight from West Virginia.
Yet the Mountaineers tied the Scarlet Knights in blocks with six, and grabbed 39 rebounds as opposed to 33 from Rutgers. They also outshot Rutgers in each category, shooting 39.6 percent (19-of-48) from field goal range, 35.7 percent (5-of-14) from beyond the arc and 88.2 percent (15-of-17) from the free throw line.
But they couldn’t get the shots to fall when they needed it the most.
“We executed, but when we really needed to execute we didn't and when we did, we missed some easy shots,” said Carey. “When they needed to execute they hit some shots and that's what it came down to.”
“Like coach was saying, we need to execute better,” added Repella. “They made plays and we didn't. When the game is on the line you have to make shots.”
Rutgers’ scoring efforts were led by Wheeler, who scored 22 points. She was followed by guard/forward April Sykes who posted 18, and Rushdan who put up 11.
The Mountaineers return to action at the Coliseum on Monday, where they will play host to St. John’s in a 7 p.m. tip for the final game of Big East regular season play. Monday’s contest also marks senior night for the Mountaineers, who graduate five seniors this year.
“This is the best group of seniors I have ever had in 30 years of coaching,” ended Carey. “They've won a lot of games over the last few years and I'm proud of them. They play hard. They make great grades and are leaders on and off the court. We're just not executing and hitting shots right now. ”
Leading the game, 50-47, with six minutes to go, the Mountaineers (21-8, 7-8 BE) had slim margin for error. A layup by Rutgers’ forward Chelsey Lee put the Scarlet Knights (17-11, 10-5 BE) only one point away from the tie. A costly West Virginia turnover then led to the opportunity for guard Erica Wheeler to sink a 3-pointer, giving Rutgers the lead, 52-50, for the first time in the game.
The two teams would continue to battle it out. A layup from Madina Ali would tie the game at 52, but she was answered by a jumper from Wheeler that would once again put Rutgers ahead. A crucial 3-point shot from Liz Repella put the Mountaineers ahead 56-55 with 3:20 left in the game, but free throws from Lee and guard Khadijah Rushdan cemented the lead for the Scarlet Knights, 61-56.
At this point, with under a minute left in the game, the Mountaineers were forced to continue fouling and were unable to recover the lead.
“They made plays down the stretch and we didn't,” said coach Carey. “Our girls played so hard and we didn't even get to the 1-in-1 until the final 30 seconds. We were getting banged when we were driving and no calls. They were getting those calls so give them credit because they were getting the calls and kept driving us. We just didn't make the plays down the stretch.”
Despite the loss, the contest saw solid performances from several Mountaineer players. Repella led the squad in scoring, posting 20 points. She also grabbed five rebounds, two blocks and one steal. Korinne Campbell followed in scoring, with a season-high 14 points in addition to four rebounds and four steals. Sarah Miles rounded out the top three, with seven points and five assists on the day.
At game’s end, Rutgers and West Virginia split the statistics evenly in nearly every category. Rutgers posted ten steals in contrast to five from the Mountaineers, and only turned the ball over nine times. The Scarlet Knights also had ten assists in comparison to eight from West Virginia.
Yet the Mountaineers tied the Scarlet Knights in blocks with six, and grabbed 39 rebounds as opposed to 33 from Rutgers. They also outshot Rutgers in each category, shooting 39.6 percent (19-of-48) from field goal range, 35.7 percent (5-of-14) from beyond the arc and 88.2 percent (15-of-17) from the free throw line.
But they couldn’t get the shots to fall when they needed it the most.
“We executed, but when we really needed to execute we didn't and when we did, we missed some easy shots,” said Carey. “When they needed to execute they hit some shots and that's what it came down to.”
“Like coach was saying, we need to execute better,” added Repella. “They made plays and we didn't. When the game is on the line you have to make shots.”
Rutgers’ scoring efforts were led by Wheeler, who scored 22 points. She was followed by guard/forward April Sykes who posted 18, and Rushdan who put up 11.
The Mountaineers return to action at the Coliseum on Monday, where they will play host to St. John’s in a 7 p.m. tip for the final game of Big East regular season play. Monday’s contest also marks senior night for the Mountaineers, who graduate five seniors this year.
“This is the best group of seniors I have ever had in 30 years of coaching,” ended Carey. “They've won a lot of games over the last few years and I'm proud of them. They play hard. They make great grades and are leaders on and off the court. We're just not executing and hitting shots right now. ”
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