Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
Women's Notebook: King's Return a Boost to WVU
January 09, 2018 06:51 PM | Women's Basketball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – It's not a coincidence West Virginia's two-game losing streak ended when Kristina King returned to the starting lineup on Sunday against Iowa State.
The 6-foot-3-inch senior forward was a welcomed sight to veteran coach Mike Carey, especially on the defensive end of the floor where she helped limit the Cyclones to a dreadful 25.7 percent shooting performance in the Mountaineers' much-needed 57-49 victory.
Ever since King has been out of the lineup after breaking her a bone in her foot during the Radford win back on Dec. 16, 15th-ranked West Virginia has not been the same team that climbed into the top in the national rankings in December.
That was evident when Texas whipped the Mountaineers 79-58 in Austin and it was even more evident four days later when Kansas State outlasted them 62-50.
Against Iowa State, Carey finally had five players back out on the floor who knew what they were doing.
"There wasn't as many breakdowns and that makes a big difference," he explained.
King didn't give Carey much offensively in 32 minutes, going 0 for 7 from the floor and hitting just half of her six free throw attempts for 3 points, but she was able to create scoring situations for her teammates or was knowledgeable enough with the offense to stay out of the way of the scorers.
"It was the first time in a couple of games we could run some plays and isolate some people because she knew where she was going," Carey said.
King is back on the floor a couple of weeks ahead of schedule because of a metal plate inserted into the sole of her shoe that helps minimize the pressure on her foot.
She said she removes the sole from her shoe and puts the insert between her sole and the bottom of her sneaker.
"Basically, my foot doesn't bend as much," she said. "When I first tried it on they were like 'just try this out' and it made a huge difference."
"We're trying everything right now," Carey said. "If they invent something we'll get it and try it. This is something new for us and she said it really helps because it doesn't put as much pressure on her foot."
King admitted her foot was pretty sore after Sunday's game to the point where she had to sit out the following practice and ice it.
Carey said he will probably have to nurse her along until she gets used to it.
"The good news is her soreness is not where the break was," he said. "It's around that but she's favoring it a little bit and it's sore so we will have to see how it goes day by day."
West Virginia has another important Big 12 assignment Wednesday night at Kansas, a much improved basketball team from the one that won just two conference games and finished with an 8-22 record.
The Jayhawks went the junior college route to improve their roster and the result is an 11-4 record that includes early conference wins over Texas Tech and TCU.
"They're a lot bigger and a lot more athletic than they were last year," Carey said.
Carey is seeking solutions to his team's offensive struggles that have seen it shoot just 30.5 percent in its last three games against Texas, Kansas State and Iowa State, and failing to reach 60 points in any of those games.
The Mountaineers were averaging 82.7 points per game during the non-conference portion of their schedule and 84.8 points per game when King was in the lineup.
"As long as they are good shots, and they're our shooters, they they're the best we have on the team right now," he said. "You have to take the shots you normally take and as long as they continue to take good shots I'm not worrying about it. They'll start hitting some of them."
Perhaps, who is averaging 11.1 points per game, can help that along a little bit.
"I'm going to have to step up offensive wise," she admitted. "(Iowa State) was my get-back-into-the-feel game and I had to make sure I shut my man down. I think I can bring a lot of energy to the team."
Pregame Notes: West Virginia has won four out of six times at Allen Fieldhouse including last year's 62-51 victory … WVU has won five straight over Kansas since dropping a 65-59 verdict in Lawrence in 2015 … Junior guard Naomi Davenport collected her fourth double-double of the season with 23 points and 13 rebounds against Iowa State … Davenport is averaging 19.5 points and nine rebounds in four Big 12 games so far … Senior forward Teana Muldrow continues to lead the team in scoring with an average of 20.8 points per game; second is Davenport now with a 16.1 average … Junior guard Katrina Pardee is mired in a 3-for-29 shooting slump over her last three games that has seen her season shooting dip to 37.2 percent … All three Pardee field goals since the Texas game have come from behind the arc, where she is just 3-of-19 … Backcourt mate Chania Ray has also struggled with her shooting stroke, the senior hitting just 13-of-55 from the floor (23.6 percent) in Big 12 action so far this season … Five-foot-five-inch junior guard Christalah Lyons leads Kansas in scoring with an average of 14.8 points per game … The Jayhawks have three 6-5 players on their roster this year … Still no word on the status of All-Big 12 guard Tynice Martin, but freshman forward Krystaline McCune is getting closer to being available once again this year following minor knee surgery after the Coppin State game … McCune, averaging 4.6 points and 1.8 rebounds per game, was able to time her surgery around the second-semester eligibility of Ohio State transfer Theresa Ekhelar … When McCune returns that will give Carey 10 available players at his disposal … Wednesday night's game will be televised on ESPN3.
The 6-foot-3-inch senior forward was a welcomed sight to veteran coach Mike Carey, especially on the defensive end of the floor where she helped limit the Cyclones to a dreadful 25.7 percent shooting performance in the Mountaineers' much-needed 57-49 victory.
Ever since King has been out of the lineup after breaking her a bone in her foot during the Radford win back on Dec. 16, 15th-ranked West Virginia has not been the same team that climbed into the top in the national rankings in December.
That was evident when Texas whipped the Mountaineers 79-58 in Austin and it was even more evident four days later when Kansas State outlasted them 62-50.
Against Iowa State, Carey finally had five players back out on the floor who knew what they were doing.
"There wasn't as many breakdowns and that makes a big difference," he explained.
King didn't give Carey much offensively in 32 minutes, going 0 for 7 from the floor and hitting just half of her six free throw attempts for 3 points, but she was able to create scoring situations for her teammates or was knowledgeable enough with the offense to stay out of the way of the scorers.
"It was the first time in a couple of games we could run some plays and isolate some people because she knew where she was going," Carey said.
King is back on the floor a couple of weeks ahead of schedule because of a metal plate inserted into the sole of her shoe that helps minimize the pressure on her foot.
She said she removes the sole from her shoe and puts the insert between her sole and the bottom of her sneaker.
"Basically, my foot doesn't bend as much," she said. "When I first tried it on they were like 'just try this out' and it made a huge difference."
"We're trying everything right now," Carey said. "If they invent something we'll get it and try it. This is something new for us and she said it really helps because it doesn't put as much pressure on her foot."
King admitted her foot was pretty sore after Sunday's game to the point where she had to sit out the following practice and ice it.
Carey said he will probably have to nurse her along until she gets used to it.
"The good news is her soreness is not where the break was," he said. "It's around that but she's favoring it a little bit and it's sore so we will have to see how it goes day by day."
West Virginia has another important Big 12 assignment Wednesday night at Kansas, a much improved basketball team from the one that won just two conference games and finished with an 8-22 record.
The Jayhawks went the junior college route to improve their roster and the result is an 11-4 record that includes early conference wins over Texas Tech and TCU.
"They're a lot bigger and a lot more athletic than they were last year," Carey said.
Carey is seeking solutions to his team's offensive struggles that have seen it shoot just 30.5 percent in its last three games against Texas, Kansas State and Iowa State, and failing to reach 60 points in any of those games.
The Mountaineers were averaging 82.7 points per game during the non-conference portion of their schedule and 84.8 points per game when King was in the lineup.
"As long as they are good shots, and they're our shooters, they they're the best we have on the team right now," he said. "You have to take the shots you normally take and as long as they continue to take good shots I'm not worrying about it. They'll start hitting some of them."
Perhaps, who is averaging 11.1 points per game, can help that along a little bit.
"I'm going to have to step up offensive wise," she admitted. "(Iowa State) was my get-back-into-the-feel game and I had to make sure I shut my man down. I think I can bring a lot of energy to the team."
Pregame Notes: West Virginia has won four out of six times at Allen Fieldhouse including last year's 62-51 victory … WVU has won five straight over Kansas since dropping a 65-59 verdict in Lawrence in 2015 … Junior guard Naomi Davenport collected her fourth double-double of the season with 23 points and 13 rebounds against Iowa State … Davenport is averaging 19.5 points and nine rebounds in four Big 12 games so far … Senior forward Teana Muldrow continues to lead the team in scoring with an average of 20.8 points per game; second is Davenport now with a 16.1 average … Junior guard Katrina Pardee is mired in a 3-for-29 shooting slump over her last three games that has seen her season shooting dip to 37.2 percent … All three Pardee field goals since the Texas game have come from behind the arc, where she is just 3-of-19 … Backcourt mate Chania Ray has also struggled with her shooting stroke, the senior hitting just 13-of-55 from the floor (23.6 percent) in Big 12 action so far this season … Five-foot-five-inch junior guard Christalah Lyons leads Kansas in scoring with an average of 14.8 points per game … The Jayhawks have three 6-5 players on their roster this year … Still no word on the status of All-Big 12 guard Tynice Martin, but freshman forward Krystaline McCune is getting closer to being available once again this year following minor knee surgery after the Coppin State game … McCune, averaging 4.6 points and 1.8 rebounds per game, was able to time her surgery around the second-semester eligibility of Ohio State transfer Theresa Ekhelar … When McCune returns that will give Carey 10 available players at his disposal … Wednesday night's game will be televised on ESPN3.
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