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WVU Opens 43rd season on Saturday
November 13, 2015 03:40 PM | Women's Basketball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - The West Virginia University women’s basketball tips off its 43rd season on Saturday, Nov. 14, when the Mountaineers play host to Delaware State in a 7 p.m. tilt at the WVU Coliseum. Admission is free courtesy of United Bank.
A free video stream will be provided at WVUsports.com. Jeff Culhane will call the action on the Mountaineer Sports Network from IMG. Fans can listen to the contest on various affiliates across the state, online at WVUsports.com or by using the TuneIn Radio app.
WVU is 27-15 all-time in season openers and 11-3 under coach Mike Carey. Since Carey took over the program in 2001, West Virginia is 13-1 in home openers. The 15-year head coach is just five victories away from surpassing Kittie Blakemore (301) as the program’s all-time wins leader.
The Mountaineers and Lady Hornets meet for the fifth time on Saturday with WVU holding a 3-1 edge in the all-time series. West Virginia won, 109-47, in the previous meeting on Dec. 18, 2013 at the WVU Coliseum.
Delaware State finished last season 5-25 overall and 2-14 in the MEAC. DSU alum Barbara Burgess took over the program this spring after serving as an assistant coach at Hampton the previous six seasons. Forward Amber Bogard returns as the Lady Hornets’ top returning scorer with 13.1 points per game.
“I thought we had a pretty good week of practice,” coach Carey said. “Delaware State has a new coach. We don’t have a lot of tape to go on because she’s a new coach. That’s what is good about early on in the season. We should be prepared for anything that comes our way.”
West Virginia returns four starters from last season’s team that finished 23-15 and runner-up in the Postseason Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT). The Mountaineers have 11 newcomers, which makes WVU the sixth-youngest team in the country by scholarship percentage.
Preseason All-Big 12 honoree Bria Holmes returns to the Mountaineers after averaging a team-leading 18.8 points last season. Holmes registered 716 points last season, which ranked second all-time behind Rosemary Kosiorek’s 730 set in 1991-92. Holmes has scored 1,412 points in her first three seasons at WVU, which ranks 17th all-time.
Center Lanay Montgomery returns after a breakout sophomore season. The Pittsburgh native led the Big 12 with 124 blocks and ranked fifth in the league with 7.7 rebounds per game. Guard Jessica Morton and forward Teana Muldrow also return after solid seasons last year.
Senior Arielle Roberson is one of three transfer for Carey this season. Roberson graduated from Colorado in the spring and is finishing her career at WVU. She missed the 2014-15 season due to a torn ACL. In 2013-14, Roberson led Colorado with 12.0 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. Other transfers include Chania Ray (Florida State) and Desiree Rhodes (Wabash Valley College). Ray, who came to WVU in the spring, must sit out until mid-December due to NCAA transfer rules.
The Mountaineers welcome eight freshmen – the most in the Carey era. The rookies donning the Old Gold and Blue this year are: Alexis Brewer, Anja Martin, Tynice Martin, Katrina Pardee, Yassemeen “Yazzy” Sa’Dullah, Lauren Saiki, Marlena Scmidt and Olivia Seggie.
West Virginia has a quick turnaround after Delaware State, as the Mountaineers play Coppin State in a 7 p.m. contest on Monday, Nov. 16, at the WVU Coliseum.
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