WVU Women to Face Texas
March 12, 2012 09:28 PM | General
MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – The West Virginia University women’s basketball team will face Texas on Saturday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the Ted Constant Convocation Center in Norfolk, Va. Tipoff is scheduled for 11:10 a.m.
With this year’s eighth-seed selection, the Mountaineers (23-9) are making their fifth appearance at the NCAA tournament in the last six years and their sixth overall appearance under head coach Mike Carey. It also marks the eighth time in program history that West Virginia has advanced to NCAA tournament play.
“I figured that we would be an eight-or nine-seed,” said Carey. “I was hoping we would move up to a seventh-seed but we didn’t. To be honest, I don’t know a lot about Texas because we really thought we were going to be playing with Baylor in that area of the bracket but we’ll get all of that information tonight in film and start breaking that down and get ready for them.”
The Mountaineers will be up against a ninth-seeded Texas team that has previously made 25 NCAA tournament appearances. Overall, the Longhorns hold a 32-24 record in tournament play and have advanced to the Final Four on three occasions, winning its first and only women’s basketball National Championship in 1986.
This year, Texas finished its season with an 18-13 overall record, including an 8-10 Big 12 Conference mark.
The Longhorns enter Saturday morning’s contest after falling to Texas Tech, 81-58, in the first round of the Big 12 tournament on March 7.
Sophomore guard Chassidy Fussell currently leads the Longhorns in scoring, averaging 16.5 points per game while pulling down 4.5 rebounds per game, the team’s third-highest rebounding average. She’s also converting 90.5 percent (86-of-95) from the line.
Behind Fussell, senior guards Ashleigh Fontenette and Yvonne Anderson are each averaging 11.9 points per game.
Senior point guard Ashley Gayle is the team’s strongest rebounder, pulling down an average of 6.6 boards per game to lead the Longhorns.
“We’ll have our hands full with Texas and that will be a great game and if we’re fortunate enough to win that then I’m sure we’ll have to play Stanford,” said Carey. “If we get past that I’ll look ahead but right now I’m just looking at Texas and Stanford because we really have to be prepared for both of them.”
The Mountaineers enter Saturday’s game after falling to No. 3 Notre Dame, 73-45, in the semifinals of the BIG EAST tournament last Monday. West Virginia found itself in an early deficit during that game, quickly falling behind during the first half against a Notre Dame team that was looking for a statement win after suffering just their second loss of the season at the hands of the Mountaineers in February.
“I know we’re a great team,” said Asya Bussie. “The first time we played Notre Dame we were really prepared but this last time we played them we weren’t as focused. I know that we’re a great team and as long as we play hard and play West Virginia defense for these tournament games I think we’ll do well.”
Bussie scored 15 points and pulled down five rebounds against the Irish. She currently paves the way for the Mountaineers in both scoring and blocks, as she’s averaging 12.2 points per game and has blocked 70 shots this season.
Redshirt-junior Ayana Dunning followed Bussie, scoring 12 points and grabbing four rebounds against Notre Dame. She’s currently averaging 8.2 points per game for the Mountaineers, and leads the team in rebounding with an average of 8.4 rebounds per game.
Redshirt-sophomore Christal Caldwell and sophomore Taylor Palmer round out the top three scorers with 11.1 and 10.7 points per game, respectively.
The winner of Saturday’s West Virginia-Texas matchup will advance to face the winner of Saturday’s Stanford-Hampton matchup on Monday, March 19.
Saturday's contest will be broadcast on ESPN2. Live stats and a full recap will also be provided by MSNsportsNET.com.
With this year’s eighth-seed selection, the Mountaineers (23-9) are making their fifth appearance at the NCAA tournament in the last six years and their sixth overall appearance under head coach Mike Carey. It also marks the eighth time in program history that West Virginia has advanced to NCAA tournament play.
“I figured that we would be an eight-or nine-seed,” said Carey. “I was hoping we would move up to a seventh-seed but we didn’t. To be honest, I don’t know a lot about Texas because we really thought we were going to be playing with Baylor in that area of the bracket but we’ll get all of that information tonight in film and start breaking that down and get ready for them.”
The Mountaineers will be up against a ninth-seeded Texas team that has previously made 25 NCAA tournament appearances. Overall, the Longhorns hold a 32-24 record in tournament play and have advanced to the Final Four on three occasions, winning its first and only women’s basketball National Championship in 1986.
This year, Texas finished its season with an 18-13 overall record, including an 8-10 Big 12 Conference mark.
The Longhorns enter Saturday morning’s contest after falling to Texas Tech, 81-58, in the first round of the Big 12 tournament on March 7.
Sophomore guard Chassidy Fussell currently leads the Longhorns in scoring, averaging 16.5 points per game while pulling down 4.5 rebounds per game, the team’s third-highest rebounding average. She’s also converting 90.5 percent (86-of-95) from the line.
Behind Fussell, senior guards Ashleigh Fontenette and Yvonne Anderson are each averaging 11.9 points per game.
Senior point guard Ashley Gayle is the team’s strongest rebounder, pulling down an average of 6.6 boards per game to lead the Longhorns.
“We’ll have our hands full with Texas and that will be a great game and if we’re fortunate enough to win that then I’m sure we’ll have to play Stanford,” said Carey. “If we get past that I’ll look ahead but right now I’m just looking at Texas and Stanford because we really have to be prepared for both of them.”
The Mountaineers enter Saturday’s game after falling to No. 3 Notre Dame, 73-45, in the semifinals of the BIG EAST tournament last Monday. West Virginia found itself in an early deficit during that game, quickly falling behind during the first half against a Notre Dame team that was looking for a statement win after suffering just their second loss of the season at the hands of the Mountaineers in February.
“I know we’re a great team,” said Asya Bussie. “The first time we played Notre Dame we were really prepared but this last time we played them we weren’t as focused. I know that we’re a great team and as long as we play hard and play West Virginia defense for these tournament games I think we’ll do well.”
Bussie scored 15 points and pulled down five rebounds against the Irish. She currently paves the way for the Mountaineers in both scoring and blocks, as she’s averaging 12.2 points per game and has blocked 70 shots this season.
Redshirt-junior Ayana Dunning followed Bussie, scoring 12 points and grabbing four rebounds against Notre Dame. She’s currently averaging 8.2 points per game for the Mountaineers, and leads the team in rebounding with an average of 8.4 rebounds per game.
Redshirt-sophomore Christal Caldwell and sophomore Taylor Palmer round out the top three scorers with 11.1 and 10.7 points per game, respectively.
The winner of Saturday’s West Virginia-Texas matchup will advance to face the winner of Saturday’s Stanford-Hampton matchup on Monday, March 19.
Saturday's contest will be broadcast on ESPN2. Live stats and a full recap will also be provided by MSNsportsNET.com.
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