West Virginia Stuns No. 2 Notre Dame
February 12, 2012 07:38 PM | General
ESPNU HIGHLIGHTS
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – For the second game in a row, the West Virginia University women’s basketball team upset a ranked opponent, defeating No. 2 Notre Dame, 65-63, on Sunday afternoon at the Purcell Pavilion.
Eight days ago, the Mountaineers knocked off 12th-ranked Louisville 66-50 in Morgantown.
“It’s a great win for us,” Coach Mike Carey said. “Notre Dame is a great team and they deserve to be No. 1 or No. 2 in the country. They are well coached and they have great players. I’m very proud of our team. I thought they came in here with a tough crowd of 9,000 or more people and a great atmosphere. Our players came in and did a great job.”
West Virginia’s win over Notre Dame snapped a 21-game win streak for the Irish (24-2, 11-1 BIG EAST), which was the second-longest active win streak in the nation. Previously, West Virginia had never defeated Notre Dame in South Bend.
The Mountaineers (18-6, 8-3 BIG EAST) had also never previously defeated a team on the road ranked higher than No. 5 in the country, having last defeated No. 5 Louisville, 79-70, at Freedom Hall in 2009.
“This is a big game,” said Carey. “We have so many new players and after losing five players last year and almost 90 percent of our offense, for these girls to get this type of win on the road will do a lot for their confidence. We have to build on this. We cannot be satisfied with it. We have five more games to play and a long way to go.”
Down by 11 points, 48-37, at the 13:05 mark, the Mountaineers came back to tie the score at 63 on a jumper from junior Asya Bussie with 35 seconds left in regulation.
“I told the girls don’t quit,” said Carey. “I said I don’t care if you foul out, but I better not see you quit playing hard. Just keep playing like we practice to do and they kept believing, believing, believing.”
Notre Dame’s Skylar Diggins attempted to reclaim the lead for her team on a layup with 10 seconds left to play, but missed the shot allowing junior Ayana Dunning to get the defensive rebound. Dunning threw the ball ahead to sophomore Brooke Hampton, who was fouled immediately by Diggins and sent to the line with a chance to win the game.
With four seconds left in regulation, Hampton sank both shots from the line to put West Virginia ahead, 65-63, leaving only a small chance for the Irish to tie it up. Notre Dame’s Natalie Novosel got a shot off at the buzzer but missed wide, giving the Mountaineers their biggest win on the road in program history.
Bussie paved the way for the Mountaineers, scoring a career-high 22 points and pulling down eight rebounds in the win. She was followed by Dunning who scored 11 points and Caldwell who posted 10 points.
“Asya Bussie in the last two or three games has been carrying us,” Carey said. “Ayana Dunning, when we went high-low, gives us a great tandem there.”
Despite shooting 38.5 percent (20-of-52) from the field and 30.8 percent from beyond the arc (4-of-13) the Mountaineers were still able to score 12 points above the average that has been allowed by Notre Dame this season.
And in converting 84.0 percent (21-of-25) from the line, West Virginia was able to take advantage of Notre Dame fouls to ultimately win the game.
“Both teams got into a little bit of foul trouble but we were able to get the big win,” Carey said.
Defensively, the Mountaineers held Notre Dame to 40.7 percent (22-of-54) from the field, 37.5 percent (3-of-8) from beyond the arc and 64.0 percent (16-of-25) from the charity line.
They also held the Irish to their lowest point total on the season. The previous low for Notre Dame was 71 points, scored in wins against both St. John’s and Rutgers.
West Virginia also won on the boards against Notre Dame, 41-33, to continue its streak of out-rebounding all but one league opponent this season.
Behind Bussie, Dunning pulled down seven rebounds and sophomore Taylor Palmer had five.
Diggins led Notre Dame in scoring with a career-high 32 points against the Mountaineers. Behind her, Novosel scored 16 points. No other Notre Dame player scored more than four points.
“I’m very proud of them,” concluded Carey. “Notre Dame is going to be fine. They’re a great team. We needed this one bad and we were able to get it. With that being said, when you play in the BIG EAST, we have five more games, and I told the team after the game, enjoy this, but you need to play Rutgers, another ranked team.”
The Mountaineers return to action at the Coliseum on Wednesday, Feb. 15 as they host No. 17/16 Rutgers in a 7 p.m. tip. Live video and stats will be provided by MSNsportsNET.com.
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – For the second game in a row, the West Virginia University women’s basketball team upset a ranked opponent, defeating No. 2 Notre Dame, 65-63, on Sunday afternoon at the Purcell Pavilion.
Eight days ago, the Mountaineers knocked off 12th-ranked Louisville 66-50 in Morgantown.
“It’s a great win for us,” Coach Mike Carey said. “Notre Dame is a great team and they deserve to be No. 1 or No. 2 in the country. They are well coached and they have great players. I’m very proud of our team. I thought they came in here with a tough crowd of 9,000 or more people and a great atmosphere. Our players came in and did a great job.”
West Virginia’s win over Notre Dame snapped a 21-game win streak for the Irish (24-2, 11-1 BIG EAST), which was the second-longest active win streak in the nation. Previously, West Virginia had never defeated Notre Dame in South Bend.
The Mountaineers (18-6, 8-3 BIG EAST) had also never previously defeated a team on the road ranked higher than No. 5 in the country, having last defeated No. 5 Louisville, 79-70, at Freedom Hall in 2009.
“This is a big game,” said Carey. “We have so many new players and after losing five players last year and almost 90 percent of our offense, for these girls to get this type of win on the road will do a lot for their confidence. We have to build on this. We cannot be satisfied with it. We have five more games to play and a long way to go.”
Down by 11 points, 48-37, at the 13:05 mark, the Mountaineers came back to tie the score at 63 on a jumper from junior Asya Bussie with 35 seconds left in regulation.
“I told the girls don’t quit,” said Carey. “I said I don’t care if you foul out, but I better not see you quit playing hard. Just keep playing like we practice to do and they kept believing, believing, believing.”
Notre Dame’s Skylar Diggins attempted to reclaim the lead for her team on a layup with 10 seconds left to play, but missed the shot allowing junior Ayana Dunning to get the defensive rebound. Dunning threw the ball ahead to sophomore Brooke Hampton, who was fouled immediately by Diggins and sent to the line with a chance to win the game.
With four seconds left in regulation, Hampton sank both shots from the line to put West Virginia ahead, 65-63, leaving only a small chance for the Irish to tie it up. Notre Dame’s Natalie Novosel got a shot off at the buzzer but missed wide, giving the Mountaineers their biggest win on the road in program history.
Bussie paved the way for the Mountaineers, scoring a career-high 22 points and pulling down eight rebounds in the win. She was followed by Dunning who scored 11 points and Caldwell who posted 10 points.
“Asya Bussie in the last two or three games has been carrying us,” Carey said. “Ayana Dunning, when we went high-low, gives us a great tandem there.”
Despite shooting 38.5 percent (20-of-52) from the field and 30.8 percent from beyond the arc (4-of-13) the Mountaineers were still able to score 12 points above the average that has been allowed by Notre Dame this season.
And in converting 84.0 percent (21-of-25) from the line, West Virginia was able to take advantage of Notre Dame fouls to ultimately win the game.
“Both teams got into a little bit of foul trouble but we were able to get the big win,” Carey said.
Defensively, the Mountaineers held Notre Dame to 40.7 percent (22-of-54) from the field, 37.5 percent (3-of-8) from beyond the arc and 64.0 percent (16-of-25) from the charity line.
They also held the Irish to their lowest point total on the season. The previous low for Notre Dame was 71 points, scored in wins against both St. John’s and Rutgers.
West Virginia also won on the boards against Notre Dame, 41-33, to continue its streak of out-rebounding all but one league opponent this season.
Behind Bussie, Dunning pulled down seven rebounds and sophomore Taylor Palmer had five.
Diggins led Notre Dame in scoring with a career-high 32 points against the Mountaineers. Behind her, Novosel scored 16 points. No other Notre Dame player scored more than four points.
“I’m very proud of them,” concluded Carey. “Notre Dame is going to be fine. They’re a great team. We needed this one bad and we were able to get it. With that being said, when you play in the BIG EAST, we have five more games, and I told the team after the game, enjoy this, but you need to play Rutgers, another ranked team.”
The Mountaineers return to action at the Coliseum on Wednesday, Feb. 15 as they host No. 17/16 Rutgers in a 7 p.m. tip. Live video and stats will be provided by MSNsportsNET.com.
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