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No. 24 WVU Faces No. 2 Baylor Saturday
January 20, 2017 11:14 AM | Women's Basketball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - The No. 24/23-ranked West Virginia University women’s basketball team concludes its two-game roadtrip with a visit to No. 2/2 Baylor on Saturday, Jan. 21. Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT at the Ferrell Center in Waco, Texas.
Saturday’s contest is televised on the FOX Sports Network and locally on ROOT SPORTS Pittsburgh. Ron Thulin and Brenda VanLengen will have the call on the telecast.
Dan Zangrilli and Meg Bulger will have the call on the Mountaineer Sports Network from IMG. Fans can listen to various affiliates across the state (click here for full list), WVUsports.com, the WVU Gameday app and TuneIn.
West Virginia (15-4, 3-4) faces its fourth ranked opponent in the last eight games. The Mountaineers dropped a 91-56 contest to the No. 2-ranked Lady Bears on Jan. 4, as junior Teana Muldrow led the team with 16 points and seven rebounds.
BU (18-1, 7-0) has won six consecutive games against WVU and leads the series, 10-2. A win over Baylor on Saturday would give West Virginia its highest victory over a ranked opponent since toppling the then-ranked No. 6 Lady Bears, 71-69, on March 2, 2014.
The Lady Bears have won 15 consecutive games since suffering a 72-61 setback at UConn on Nov. 17. BU is coming off a 68-42 victory against Iowa State on Wednesday. BU has a +35.1 scoring margin in Big 12 games, while its closest victory was a 23-point win over TCU on Jan. 11.
The Lady Bears lead the nation in 11 categories and are in the top-10 in eight others. Among those leading categories includes scoring offense (91.3 points per game), scoring margin (+41.7) and field goal percentage defense (28.0%).
Alexis Jones paces Baylor with 14.6 points, 44 3-pointers and is second on the team with 84 assists. Kalani Brown is averaging 13.9 points per game and is third nationally with a 69.2 field goal percentage (108-of-156). Other double-figure scorers include Nina Davis (11.9 ppg) and Alexis Prince (10.6 ppg).
“It’s a different team, a different time,” coach Mike Carey said. “Last year, we were a lot deeper coming off the bench. We can match them off the bench. This year we don’t. We usually do match up with them because of our style of play and their style of play. They just keep coming off the bench. We don’t have that luxury right now.”
West Virginia snapped a two-game losing skid with a 62-51 victory at Kansas on Wednesday. Tynice Martin led the team with 21 points. Lanay Montgomery registered her eighth double-double this season with 15 points and 13 rebounds. Muldrow also recorded a double-double with 12 points and a career-high 15 rebounds. She also dished out a personal-best six assists in the victory.
Montgomery continues to lead the nation with a 70.6 field goal percentage and is fifth nationally with 3.6 blocks per game. Martin’s 17.8 points per game is second in the Big 12, while Chania Ray’s 6.2 assists per contest paces the conference.
Statistically, West Virginia ranks third nationally with 6.9 blocked shots per game and 10th in the NCAA with a 34.0% field goal percentage defense.
Following Saturday’s contest, West Virginia returns home to face Texas Tech in a 7 p.m. matchup at the WVU Coliseum on Wednesday, Jan. 25. All WVU Faculty and Staff members will receive free admission to Wednesday’s contest.
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