MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - The West Virginia University women’s basketball team returns home to play Longwood on Wednesday, Dec. 16, in a 7 p.m. matchup at the WVU Coliseum.

 

West Virginia (7-2) has reeled off five consecutive victories after picking up a 66-60 win over Marshall on Sunday in the annual Chesapeake Energy Capital Classic. Longwood (2-6) snapped a three-game losing skid with a 100-57 win over North Carolina Wesleyan on Saturday.

 

Wednesday evening is the annual Feed-A-Family Night food drive. Any individual who brings a non-perishable food item to the Blue Gate will receive a free hot dog coupon to use at the Elon game on Dec. 28, (limit two per person). All of the donated items will support the Mountaineer Food Bank.

 

Tickets for Wednesday’s contest can be purchased online at WVUGAME.com by selecting the print-at-home option and by calling 1-800-WVU GAME.

 

A free video stream will be provided at WVUsports.com. Jeff Culhane and Liz Repella 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.

 

Lanay Montgomery registered a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds against Marshall en route to Capital Classic MVP accolades on Sunday. Freshman Tynice Martin tallied a team-high 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds, while freshman Bria Holmes netted a double-double with 12 points and a career-high 10 assists in the victory.

 

The Mountaineers boast the nation’s eighth-best field goal defense, allowing opponents to shoot just 32.5 percent (177-of-545) in nine contests this season. WVU’s field goal percentage of 45.6 (256-of-562) ranks 29th nationally. Offensively, the Mountaineers are averaging 76.2 points per game and allowing opponents to tally 56.2 points per contest.  

 

“We’ve got some things that we really need to fix before Big 12 play,” said coach Mike Carey. “We need to rebound, talk on defense, get to the ball and offensively set better picks. The good news is that I have seen an improvement in those areas and we are getting better.”

 

Holmes, a Preseason All-Big 12 selection, leads the Mountaineers and ranks second in the league with 18.0 points per game. Holmes ranks No. 9 on WVU’s all-time scoring ledger with 1,574 points and needs just 29 more to surpass Olayinka Sanni (1,602) for eighth.

 

Montgomery is third in the conference with 9.6 rebounds per game, while her 3.6 blocks per contest ranks third nationally. The Mountaineers have one of the best assist-to-turnover duos in the country. Olivia Seggie’s 4.43 assist-to-turnover ratio is third in the NCAA, while Holmes’ 2.53 mark ranks 32nd nationally.

 

WVU and Longwood meet for the fourth time on Wednesday, with the Mountaineers winning the three previous meetings. The two teams last met on Dec. 12, 2009 when WVU prevailed 74-43 over the Lancers in Morgantown.

 

The Lancers opened the season 0-3 after losses to Oregon State, James Madison and Virginia. The team picked up its first victory of the season with a 60-49 triumph over North Carolina Central on Nov. 24. The Lancers then lost three more before winning over N.C. Wesleyan last week.

 

Longwood’s offense is boasting 55.9 points per contest, while giving up 75.5 points per game. The Lancers are shooting at a 33.0 percent clip (158-of-479) in eight contests.

 

Kyndal Skersick leads the Lancers in scoring with 10.6 points per game, while Eboni Gilliam averages 5.9 rebounds per contest. Kemari Jones was named the Big South freshman of the week after scoring 14 points and grabbing 11 rebounds in last week’s win over N.C. Wesleyan.

 

West Virginia has won 11 consecutive games at the Coliseum dating back to last season and has reeled off 22 consecutive victories against non-conference competition since the 2013-14 season.