Women's Basketball: Mountaineers Travel to USF
January 31, 2012 03:44 PM | General
MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – The West Virginia University women’s basketball team needs to collect a few more BIG EAST wins on the road before the regular season is complete.
The team will have the opportunity to do just that on Wednesday, when it opens its February schedule against South Florida in a 7 p.m. tip at the USF Recreation Center.
The Mountaineers (15-6, 5-3 BIG EAST) currently hold a 6-1 all-time series lead over the Bulls (12-10, 4-4 BIG EAST) including a 2-1 record when facing USF on their home court, but this year’s South Florida team is a different team from years past and has already experienced success against some of the top teams in the BIG EAST this year.
The Bulls are coming off of a close loss at No. 3/3 Connecticut on Saturday night, as they trailed the Huskies by just three points, 36-33, at the half. It marked the smallest halftime deficit for the Bulls in 10 meetings with Connecticut.
Prior to that loss, South Florida earned two wins over Seton Hall, a win against Cincinnati and an upset win over then-No. 21/19 DePaul.
Senior guard Jasmine Wynne averages 15.9 points per game for South Florida, and also comes in second on the team in rebounding with 5.6 rebounds per game. Behind her, junior guard Inga Orekhova has been averaging 14.0 points per game, while junior guard Kaneisha Saunders has been averaging 12.0 points per game.
Orekhova has made her way to second in scoring on the team after just seven games this season, as she had to sit out the first 15 games due to transfer rules.
“Their guards are their strength,” coach Mike Carey said. “We have to get up and down the floor because they change it up on defense and have great quickness.”
Junior forward Tiffany Connor leads the team in rebounding, averaging 5.7 rebounds per game. She also has the second-most steals on the team with 52.
“South Florida has a group of guards and a group of three point shooters and a group of athletes,” Carey said. “We will have our hands full and we need to be prepared.”
The Mountaineers enter Wednesday night’s contest coming off of a much-needed 53-32 win over Marquette at the Coliseum on Saturday.
Sophomore Taylor Palmer continues to lead West Virginia in scoring, as she averages 13.2 points per game including double figure scoring numbers in back-to-back wins last week. She’s followed by junior Asya Bussie who averages 11.7 points per game, and redshirt sophomore Christal Caldwell who averages 11.6 points per game.
Caldwell has recorded double figure scoring numbers in each of the last nine games, including consecutive 20-point outings last week.
Defensively, the Mountaineers continue to rank within the top-five nationally in scoring defense (No. 4), and field-goal percentage defense (No. 3). They held Marquette without a single 3-point field goal as the Golden Eagles went 0-for-10 from 3-point range on Saturday. They also allowed just 10 Marquette field goals, marking the first time in program history that the Mountaineers have held a BIG EAST team to that number.
Redshirt junior Ayana Dunning leads the team on the boards, averaging 7.9 rebounds per game. Caldwell and Bussie average 6.8 and 6.5 rebounds per game, respectively.
Live audio of Wednesday’s game will be provided by MSNsportsNET.com.
The team will have the opportunity to do just that on Wednesday, when it opens its February schedule against South Florida in a 7 p.m. tip at the USF Recreation Center.
The Mountaineers (15-6, 5-3 BIG EAST) currently hold a 6-1 all-time series lead over the Bulls (12-10, 4-4 BIG EAST) including a 2-1 record when facing USF on their home court, but this year’s South Florida team is a different team from years past and has already experienced success against some of the top teams in the BIG EAST this year.
The Bulls are coming off of a close loss at No. 3/3 Connecticut on Saturday night, as they trailed the Huskies by just three points, 36-33, at the half. It marked the smallest halftime deficit for the Bulls in 10 meetings with Connecticut.
Prior to that loss, South Florida earned two wins over Seton Hall, a win against Cincinnati and an upset win over then-No. 21/19 DePaul.
Senior guard Jasmine Wynne averages 15.9 points per game for South Florida, and also comes in second on the team in rebounding with 5.6 rebounds per game. Behind her, junior guard Inga Orekhova has been averaging 14.0 points per game, while junior guard Kaneisha Saunders has been averaging 12.0 points per game.
Orekhova has made her way to second in scoring on the team after just seven games this season, as she had to sit out the first 15 games due to transfer rules.
“Their guards are their strength,” coach Mike Carey said. “We have to get up and down the floor because they change it up on defense and have great quickness.”
Junior forward Tiffany Connor leads the team in rebounding, averaging 5.7 rebounds per game. She also has the second-most steals on the team with 52.
“South Florida has a group of guards and a group of three point shooters and a group of athletes,” Carey said. “We will have our hands full and we need to be prepared.”
The Mountaineers enter Wednesday night’s contest coming off of a much-needed 53-32 win over Marquette at the Coliseum on Saturday.
Sophomore Taylor Palmer continues to lead West Virginia in scoring, as she averages 13.2 points per game including double figure scoring numbers in back-to-back wins last week. She’s followed by junior Asya Bussie who averages 11.7 points per game, and redshirt sophomore Christal Caldwell who averages 11.6 points per game.
Caldwell has recorded double figure scoring numbers in each of the last nine games, including consecutive 20-point outings last week.
Defensively, the Mountaineers continue to rank within the top-five nationally in scoring defense (No. 4), and field-goal percentage defense (No. 3). They held Marquette without a single 3-point field goal as the Golden Eagles went 0-for-10 from 3-point range on Saturday. They also allowed just 10 Marquette field goals, marking the first time in program history that the Mountaineers have held a BIG EAST team to that number.
Redshirt junior Ayana Dunning leads the team on the boards, averaging 7.9 rebounds per game. Caldwell and Bussie average 6.8 and 6.5 rebounds per game, respectively.
Live audio of Wednesday’s game will be provided by MSNsportsNET.com.
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