WVU Women Host No. 12 Louisville
February 03, 2012 05:18 PM | General
MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – The West Virginia University women’s basketball team will be facing the first of four-straight ranked opponents when it hosts No. 12 Louisville in a 4 p.m. tip at the Coliseum on Saturday.
All things considered, the Mountaineers (16-6, 6-3 BIG EAST) have put themselves in good position heading into the toughest part of their regular season schedule as they currently place in the midst of five teams fighting for third place in the conference.
“We had five seniors go and play professionally overseas and with a young team we’re still sitting here at 16-6,” said coach Mike Carey. “We could be a lot worse at this time. With that being said, we probably gave away four of them. But we’re getting better and we still have seven games left to go.”
The Cardinals (17-5, 6-3 BIG EAST) recently saw a three-game win streak snapped by No. 23 DePaul on Tuesday night. Before the 86-61 loss, Louisville had defeated Providence, No. 19/17 Georgetown and Villanova.
Tuesday’s 25-point loss is a factor that has Carey a little bit concerned.
“Louisville is going to come in here mad,” he said. “I’d rather have a team come in here after a win feeling good about themselves than a team that comes in here upset.”
Currently, the Cardinals are led in scoring by sophomore guard Shoni Schimmel, who’s averaging 13.6 points per game, including 46 3-pointers. Last year Schimmel put up 17 points against the Mountaineers, including three treys that turned out to be crucial.
Behind Schimmel, senior guard Becky Burke is averaging 11.6 points per game. She’s also a legitimate threat from beyond the arc as she leads the team with 54 threes on the season so far.
Freshman guard Bria Smith rounds out the top three Louisville scorers as she currently averages 10.7 points per game.
“They have a lot of talent,” Carey said. “Their guards are very good and they have drivers and 3-point shooters and they rotate in the post area. They’re a legit top 25 team and we’re just going to have to play against them. We have them here at home and hopefully we can do what we do and prevent them from doing what they like to do.”
Louisville averages 71.2 points per game, the fourth-highest average in the league, and also holds the sixth-highest free throw percentage (70.7) in the league.
However, the Cardinals will be going up against a defense that ranks fourth-best nationally in scoring defense (49.0) and third-lowest nationally in field-goal percentage defense (30.6).
Those figures, combined with dominating performances on the boards, should place the Mountaineers in good shape heading into Saturday’s contest. Currently, West Virginia’s rebounding margin of 9.3 is the 13th best rebounding margin in the nation, and they have out-rebounded all but one league opponent this season.
Redshirt-junior Ayana Dunning leads the Mountaineers on the boards as she has recorded seven double-figure rebounding games, including a career-high 17 rebounds against USF on Wednesday night. She’s averaging 8.3 rebounds per game.
She’s followed by redshirt sophomore Christal Caldwell who averages 6.8 rebounds per game, and junior Asya Bussie who’s averaging 6.5.
Offensively, West Virginia has three players scoring in double figures. Sophomore Taylor Palmer averages 12.9 points per game, while Caldwell and Bussie follow close behind, each averaging 11.5 points.
“We don’t have any easy games left,” Carey ended. “We just have to go in one game at a time and try to win some of these; that’s all we can do. There’s no doubt in my mind that we’ll come out with energy tomorrow.”
Saturday’s game is a Dairy Mart Dollar Day. Fans can stop by the Dairy Mart locations on Richwood Ave., Van Voorhis Rd., or Willey St. in Morgantown to pick up a $1 admission coupon to the game. Vouchers for a $1 ticket may also be printed online at www.MSNsportsNET.com and redeemed at the Blue Gate ticket window on game day.
The game will be broadcast live on WVPBS with Hoppy Kercheval and Warren Baker. Live streaming of the game and statistics, along with a full recap of Saturday’s action, can be found at MSNsportsNET.com.
All things considered, the Mountaineers (16-6, 6-3 BIG EAST) have put themselves in good position heading into the toughest part of their regular season schedule as they currently place in the midst of five teams fighting for third place in the conference.
“We had five seniors go and play professionally overseas and with a young team we’re still sitting here at 16-6,” said coach Mike Carey. “We could be a lot worse at this time. With that being said, we probably gave away four of them. But we’re getting better and we still have seven games left to go.”
The Cardinals (17-5, 6-3 BIG EAST) recently saw a three-game win streak snapped by No. 23 DePaul on Tuesday night. Before the 86-61 loss, Louisville had defeated Providence, No. 19/17 Georgetown and Villanova.
Tuesday’s 25-point loss is a factor that has Carey a little bit concerned.
“Louisville is going to come in here mad,” he said. “I’d rather have a team come in here after a win feeling good about themselves than a team that comes in here upset.”
Currently, the Cardinals are led in scoring by sophomore guard Shoni Schimmel, who’s averaging 13.6 points per game, including 46 3-pointers. Last year Schimmel put up 17 points against the Mountaineers, including three treys that turned out to be crucial.
Behind Schimmel, senior guard Becky Burke is averaging 11.6 points per game. She’s also a legitimate threat from beyond the arc as she leads the team with 54 threes on the season so far.
Freshman guard Bria Smith rounds out the top three Louisville scorers as she currently averages 10.7 points per game.
“They have a lot of talent,” Carey said. “Their guards are very good and they have drivers and 3-point shooters and they rotate in the post area. They’re a legit top 25 team and we’re just going to have to play against them. We have them here at home and hopefully we can do what we do and prevent them from doing what they like to do.”
Louisville averages 71.2 points per game, the fourth-highest average in the league, and also holds the sixth-highest free throw percentage (70.7) in the league.
However, the Cardinals will be going up against a defense that ranks fourth-best nationally in scoring defense (49.0) and third-lowest nationally in field-goal percentage defense (30.6).
Those figures, combined with dominating performances on the boards, should place the Mountaineers in good shape heading into Saturday’s contest. Currently, West Virginia’s rebounding margin of 9.3 is the 13th best rebounding margin in the nation, and they have out-rebounded all but one league opponent this season.
Redshirt-junior Ayana Dunning leads the Mountaineers on the boards as she has recorded seven double-figure rebounding games, including a career-high 17 rebounds against USF on Wednesday night. She’s averaging 8.3 rebounds per game.
She’s followed by redshirt sophomore Christal Caldwell who averages 6.8 rebounds per game, and junior Asya Bussie who’s averaging 6.5.
Offensively, West Virginia has three players scoring in double figures. Sophomore Taylor Palmer averages 12.9 points per game, while Caldwell and Bussie follow close behind, each averaging 11.5 points.
“We don’t have any easy games left,” Carey ended. “We just have to go in one game at a time and try to win some of these; that’s all we can do. There’s no doubt in my mind that we’ll come out with energy tomorrow.”
Saturday’s game is a Dairy Mart Dollar Day. Fans can stop by the Dairy Mart locations on Richwood Ave., Van Voorhis Rd., or Willey St. in Morgantown to pick up a $1 admission coupon to the game. Vouchers for a $1 ticket may also be printed online at www.MSNsportsNET.com and redeemed at the Blue Gate ticket window on game day.
The game will be broadcast live on WVPBS with Hoppy Kercheval and Warren Baker. Live streaming of the game and statistics, along with a full recap of Saturday’s action, can be found at MSNsportsNET.com.
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