Women's Basketball: Mountaineers Outlast USF
February 01, 2012 10:39 PM | General
TAMPA, Fla. - The West Virginia University women’s basketball team outlasted South Florida, 55-52, at the USF Recreation Center on Wednesday night.
The Mountaineers (16-6, 6-3 BIG EAST) now move into a five-team tie for third place in the conference.
With 3:43 remaining in the second half, it looked like West Virginia had control of the game and was going to cruise to a win, as they held a nine point lead, 53-44, over the Bulls (12-11, 4-5 BIG EAST).
But South Florida chipped away at the Mountaineer lead late, taking advantage of free throw and layup opportunities to pull within four, 53-49, with 1:35 left in regulation. A three point jumper from USF’s Andrell Smith at the 1:02 mark brought the game within reach for the Bulls.
With time winding down quickly, sophomore Brooke Hampton had no choice but to try a shot from beyond the arc. Junior Asya Bussie came up with the huge offensive rebound for the Mountaineers, and was subsequently fouled. She sank one of her free throws to give the team a little breathing room. Not long after, freshman Linda Stepney was fouled, and she sank one of her shots from the line to bring the score to 55-52 with 23 seconds left.
Redshirt junior Ayana Dunning had a career night for her team, scoring 15 points and grabbing a career-high 17 rebounds for her third career double-double. She was followed by redshirt sophomore Christal Caldwell, who scored in double figures for the tenth-straight game with 10 points against the Bulls.
Stepney scored nine points to round out the top three scorers.
Neither team had strong offensive performances, as the Mountaineers converted just 32.6 percent (15-of-46) from the field and 28.6 percent (2-of-7) from beyond the arc. They had more success capitalizing on shots from the line, shooting 63.9 percent (23-of-36).
South Florida put up similar statistics, converting 30.2 percent (16-of-53) from the field and 29.4 percent (5-of-17) from 3-point range, while shooting 68.2 percent (15-of-22) from the charity stripe.
Defensively, West Virginia dominated on the boards pulling down 51 rebounds to South Florida’s 28. The Mountaineers have now out-rebounded all but one league opponent this season.
Behind Dunning, Caldwell and Bussie grabbed seven rebounds each.
West Virginia’s rebounding also gave them the advantage in second-chance points, as they were able to score 13 second-chance points in comparison to USF’s five.
South Florida was led in scoring by senior guard Jasmine Wynne, who scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Behind Wynne, junior guard Inga Orekhova chipped in another 10 points.
West Virginia returns to action at the Coliseum on Saturday afternoon, hosting a game against No. 12 Louisville. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m., and live stats and streaming of the game will be available online at MSNsportsNet.com. The game will also be broadcast live on WVPBS.
The Mountaineers (16-6, 6-3 BIG EAST) now move into a five-team tie for third place in the conference.
With 3:43 remaining in the second half, it looked like West Virginia had control of the game and was going to cruise to a win, as they held a nine point lead, 53-44, over the Bulls (12-11, 4-5 BIG EAST).
But South Florida chipped away at the Mountaineer lead late, taking advantage of free throw and layup opportunities to pull within four, 53-49, with 1:35 left in regulation. A three point jumper from USF’s Andrell Smith at the 1:02 mark brought the game within reach for the Bulls.
With time winding down quickly, sophomore Brooke Hampton had no choice but to try a shot from beyond the arc. Junior Asya Bussie came up with the huge offensive rebound for the Mountaineers, and was subsequently fouled. She sank one of her free throws to give the team a little breathing room. Not long after, freshman Linda Stepney was fouled, and she sank one of her shots from the line to bring the score to 55-52 with 23 seconds left.
Redshirt junior Ayana Dunning had a career night for her team, scoring 15 points and grabbing a career-high 17 rebounds for her third career double-double. She was followed by redshirt sophomore Christal Caldwell, who scored in double figures for the tenth-straight game with 10 points against the Bulls.
Stepney scored nine points to round out the top three scorers.
Neither team had strong offensive performances, as the Mountaineers converted just 32.6 percent (15-of-46) from the field and 28.6 percent (2-of-7) from beyond the arc. They had more success capitalizing on shots from the line, shooting 63.9 percent (23-of-36).
South Florida put up similar statistics, converting 30.2 percent (16-of-53) from the field and 29.4 percent (5-of-17) from 3-point range, while shooting 68.2 percent (15-of-22) from the charity stripe.
Defensively, West Virginia dominated on the boards pulling down 51 rebounds to South Florida’s 28. The Mountaineers have now out-rebounded all but one league opponent this season.
Behind Dunning, Caldwell and Bussie grabbed seven rebounds each.
West Virginia’s rebounding also gave them the advantage in second-chance points, as they were able to score 13 second-chance points in comparison to USF’s five.
South Florida was led in scoring by senior guard Jasmine Wynne, who scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Behind Wynne, junior guard Inga Orekhova chipped in another 10 points.
West Virginia returns to action at the Coliseum on Saturday afternoon, hosting a game against No. 12 Louisville. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m., and live stats and streaming of the game will be available online at MSNsportsNet.com. The game will also be broadcast live on WVPBS.
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