West Virginia to Face Marshall
January 16, 2012 04:30 PM | General
MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – For those who are expecting similar results to last year’s 78-21 win over Marshall when the West Virginia University women’s basketball team travels to Charleston, W. Va. for this year’s Chesapeake Energy Capital Classic on Tuesday night, they might be in for a surprise.
The Thundering Herd (12-4, 3-1 C-USA) have started their season with one of their best records over the past two decades, having brought in 11 newcomers this season in addition to returning seven letterwinners from last season.
“If you look at their roster they brought in seven or eight junior college players, so it will be misleading after last year’s game,” coach Carey said. “Last year’s game wasn’t much of a game because Marshall had a lot of players hurt and not playing. They’re very athletic, they’ll play 10 or 11 people and they press a lot. It will come down to the same things it’s come down to all year; taking care of the basketball, getting good looks at the rim and defending.”
Marshall will also come into Tuesday night’s game looking to rebound from a very close 55-53 loss at home to SMU on Sunday, which snapped a five-game winning streak. Prior to Sunday’s contest, the Thundering Herd had defeated Southern Miss, Tulsa, Houston, Ball State and Tennessee Tech.
Redshirt-sophomore Jasmine Shaw, a junior-college transfer out of Chipola Junior College leads the Thundering Herd in scoring as she averages 8.0 points per game. Behind Shaw, senior Lateidra Elliot is averaging 7.4 points per game and redshirt-sophomore Erica Woods is averaging 7.2 points per game.
“Most of their scoring comes from the perimeter and that’s what scares me,” said Carey. “They’re quick and athletic and they dribble drive and that’s what concerns me. But we’re bigger in the paint and do a lot more scoring in the paint than they do.”
Shaw has led the Herd in scoring in six games, while Elliot has led the team’s scoring efforts in five. Elliot also paces the team from beyond the arc, with 17 3-pointers made on the season so far.
Defensively, redshirt-sophomore guard Woods leads the team in rebounding, averaging 6.5 rebounds per game while juniors Leandra King and Alyse Poindexter each average 5.2 rebounds per game.
West Virginia leads Marshall, 34-16, in the all-time series, including having won nine of the last 10 meetings and the last six consecutive. The Mountaineers (12-5, 3-2 BIG EAST) also hold a 14-6 record in the Charleston Civic Center.
West Virginia is led in scoring by sophomore Taylor Palmer, who averages 13.5 points per game and leads the team with 43 threes made this season. She’s followed by junior Asya Bussie who averages 12.9 points per game, and leads the team in blocks with 43 this season. Redshirt-sophomore Christal Caldwell rounds out the top three scorers, averaging 9.9 points per game.
Caldwell has recorded double-figure scoring numbers in each of the last five games.
“Taylor Palmer had some great looks at Providence,” Carey said. “Christal Caldwell had some great looks. They’re going to get those because of Asya (Bussie) and Ayana (Dunning). They had some wide open looks and none of them went in. None of them were bad shots. We encourage them to continue to take them and hopefully we’ll start hitting those.
“For us to be the team we need to be we need to have balanced scoring from the perimeter and from the inside.”
Defensively, the Mountaineers continue to dominate on the boards, out-rebounding opponents by a margin of 11.8, the ninth-best margin in the nation.
Redshirt-junior Ayana Dunning leads West Virginia on the boards, averaging 8.1 rebounds per game. Behind Dunning, Bussie is averaging 6.7 rebounds per game and Caldwell and sophomore Jess Harlee each average 6.2 rebounds per game.
“Our guards are going to have to handle the pressure,” Carey ended. “If they don’t handle the pressure, it’s going to be a tough game for us. If they do handle the pressure, we’ll be okay.”
Tipoff is set for 7 p.m., with the contest broadcast live on WVPBS. Live video will also be provided on MSNsportsNET.com.
The Thundering Herd (12-4, 3-1 C-USA) have started their season with one of their best records over the past two decades, having brought in 11 newcomers this season in addition to returning seven letterwinners from last season.
“If you look at their roster they brought in seven or eight junior college players, so it will be misleading after last year’s game,” coach Carey said. “Last year’s game wasn’t much of a game because Marshall had a lot of players hurt and not playing. They’re very athletic, they’ll play 10 or 11 people and they press a lot. It will come down to the same things it’s come down to all year; taking care of the basketball, getting good looks at the rim and defending.”
Marshall will also come into Tuesday night’s game looking to rebound from a very close 55-53 loss at home to SMU on Sunday, which snapped a five-game winning streak. Prior to Sunday’s contest, the Thundering Herd had defeated Southern Miss, Tulsa, Houston, Ball State and Tennessee Tech.
Redshirt-sophomore Jasmine Shaw, a junior-college transfer out of Chipola Junior College leads the Thundering Herd in scoring as she averages 8.0 points per game. Behind Shaw, senior Lateidra Elliot is averaging 7.4 points per game and redshirt-sophomore Erica Woods is averaging 7.2 points per game.
“Most of their scoring comes from the perimeter and that’s what scares me,” said Carey. “They’re quick and athletic and they dribble drive and that’s what concerns me. But we’re bigger in the paint and do a lot more scoring in the paint than they do.”
Shaw has led the Herd in scoring in six games, while Elliot has led the team’s scoring efforts in five. Elliot also paces the team from beyond the arc, with 17 3-pointers made on the season so far.
Defensively, redshirt-sophomore guard Woods leads the team in rebounding, averaging 6.5 rebounds per game while juniors Leandra King and Alyse Poindexter each average 5.2 rebounds per game.
West Virginia leads Marshall, 34-16, in the all-time series, including having won nine of the last 10 meetings and the last six consecutive. The Mountaineers (12-5, 3-2 BIG EAST) also hold a 14-6 record in the Charleston Civic Center.
West Virginia is led in scoring by sophomore Taylor Palmer, who averages 13.5 points per game and leads the team with 43 threes made this season. She’s followed by junior Asya Bussie who averages 12.9 points per game, and leads the team in blocks with 43 this season. Redshirt-sophomore Christal Caldwell rounds out the top three scorers, averaging 9.9 points per game.
Caldwell has recorded double-figure scoring numbers in each of the last five games.
“Taylor Palmer had some great looks at Providence,” Carey said. “Christal Caldwell had some great looks. They’re going to get those because of Asya (Bussie) and Ayana (Dunning). They had some wide open looks and none of them went in. None of them were bad shots. We encourage them to continue to take them and hopefully we’ll start hitting those.
“For us to be the team we need to be we need to have balanced scoring from the perimeter and from the inside.”
Defensively, the Mountaineers continue to dominate on the boards, out-rebounding opponents by a margin of 11.8, the ninth-best margin in the nation.
Redshirt-junior Ayana Dunning leads West Virginia on the boards, averaging 8.1 rebounds per game. Behind Dunning, Bussie is averaging 6.7 rebounds per game and Caldwell and sophomore Jess Harlee each average 6.2 rebounds per game.
“Our guards are going to have to handle the pressure,” Carey ended. “If they don’t handle the pressure, it’s going to be a tough game for us. If they do handle the pressure, we’ll be okay.”
Tipoff is set for 7 p.m., with the contest broadcast live on WVPBS. Live video will also be provided on MSNsportsNET.com.
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