Friday, November 23
Bimini, The Bahamas
5:15 p.m.
West Virginia University
vs
Iowa
Photo by: Katie MacCrory
WVU Set for Top-25 Tilt in The Bahamas
November 22, 2018 01:48 PM | Women's Basketball
BIMINI, The Bahamas – The No. 25/20 West Virginia University women's basketball team is in The Bahamas to face No. 12/14 Iowa in a top-25 matchup on Friday as part of Junkanoo Jam. The teams will square off in a 5:15 p.m. tipoff at Gateway Christian School on the Island of Bimini.
David Kahn and Ayana Dunning will have the radio call on the Mountaineer Sports Network from IMG. The game will air on Blake FM (98.3 FM /1490 AM) in Morgantown and Fairmont, as well as on WVUsports.com and the WVU Gameday App. A live stream can be found at FloHoops.com.
"We have an opportunity to play against Iowa, which is a great team," coach Mike Carey said. "They ranked 12th right now and they're undefeated. It's good to go and play a ranked team on a neutral court. "
The Mountaineers (3-0) moved into the AP Top 25 this week, coming in at No. 25, and moved up five spots to No. 20 in the USA Today Sports Coaches Poll. Iowa (3-0) moved up to No. 12 in the AP Poll and ranked at No. 14 in the Coaches Poll. Both teams enter the contest at 3-0, making Friday's tilt a top-25 matchup of undefeated teams.
Friday is the fifth all-time meeting between WVU and Iowa in a series that started in 1992. The Mountaineers trail the Hawkeyes, 3-1, with Iowa winning the most recent meeting, 79-70, against the then-12th ranked Mountaineers on Nov. 25, 2012. WVU enters the match with a 4-15 mark all-time against the Big Ten.
The 2018 season marks the first time since 2014 that WVU has played a regular-season game outside of the continental U.S. The Mountaineers played three games in Honolulu, Hawaii, in 2013-14 as part of the Bank of Hawaii Rainbow Wahine Classic. West Virginia has twice played in the U.S. Virgin Islands, as they traveled to St. Thomas to play in Paradise Jam in both 2003 and 2011, and was slated return to St. Thomas in November of 2017, but the tournament was moved to Florida due to hurricane damage. The Mountaineers' trip to Bimini marks the first time they have played an international regular-season game.
WVU is coming off a 94-48 win over Bryant last week at the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown. Redshirt junior guard Tynice Martin led the way with her 17th 20-point effort of the season. Redshirt sophomore guard Kysre Gondrezick made her Mountaineer debut, putting up 16 points, while senior guard Katrina Pardee had 15 points to remain 25 shy of 1,000 career points.
Additionally, Martin was announced as a candidate for the 2019 Wade Trophy, presented to the best collegiate women's basketball player, Tuesday. She is one of three Big 12 players on the watch list, as Baylor's Kalani Brown and Lauren Cox are also candidates. It is Martin's second watch list of the season, as she and senior guard/forward Naomi Davenport were previously named to the Citizen Naismith Trophy Watch List.
Iowa most recently downed NC Central, 106-39, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa, on Saturday. Megan Gustafson posted a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Hawkeyes, while Makenzie Meyer had 16 points and Hannah Stewart had 15.
With a win, WVU would face the winner of the Florida State/Eastern Kentucky matchup at 6:45 p.m. on Saturday. The third/fourth place contest will tipoff at 4:15 p.m. on Saturday.
David Kahn and Ayana Dunning will have the radio call on the Mountaineer Sports Network from IMG. The game will air on Blake FM (98.3 FM /1490 AM) in Morgantown and Fairmont, as well as on WVUsports.com and the WVU Gameday App. A live stream can be found at FloHoops.com.
"We have an opportunity to play against Iowa, which is a great team," coach Mike Carey said. "They ranked 12th right now and they're undefeated. It's good to go and play a ranked team on a neutral court. "
The Mountaineers (3-0) moved into the AP Top 25 this week, coming in at No. 25, and moved up five spots to No. 20 in the USA Today Sports Coaches Poll. Iowa (3-0) moved up to No. 12 in the AP Poll and ranked at No. 14 in the Coaches Poll. Both teams enter the contest at 3-0, making Friday's tilt a top-25 matchup of undefeated teams.
Friday is the fifth all-time meeting between WVU and Iowa in a series that started in 1992. The Mountaineers trail the Hawkeyes, 3-1, with Iowa winning the most recent meeting, 79-70, against the then-12th ranked Mountaineers on Nov. 25, 2012. WVU enters the match with a 4-15 mark all-time against the Big Ten.
The 2018 season marks the first time since 2014 that WVU has played a regular-season game outside of the continental U.S. The Mountaineers played three games in Honolulu, Hawaii, in 2013-14 as part of the Bank of Hawaii Rainbow Wahine Classic. West Virginia has twice played in the U.S. Virgin Islands, as they traveled to St. Thomas to play in Paradise Jam in both 2003 and 2011, and was slated return to St. Thomas in November of 2017, but the tournament was moved to Florida due to hurricane damage. The Mountaineers' trip to Bimini marks the first time they have played an international regular-season game.
WVU is coming off a 94-48 win over Bryant last week at the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown. Redshirt junior guard Tynice Martin led the way with her 17th 20-point effort of the season. Redshirt sophomore guard Kysre Gondrezick made her Mountaineer debut, putting up 16 points, while senior guard Katrina Pardee had 15 points to remain 25 shy of 1,000 career points.
Additionally, Martin was announced as a candidate for the 2019 Wade Trophy, presented to the best collegiate women's basketball player, Tuesday. She is one of three Big 12 players on the watch list, as Baylor's Kalani Brown and Lauren Cox are also candidates. It is Martin's second watch list of the season, as she and senior guard/forward Naomi Davenport were previously named to the Citizen Naismith Trophy Watch List.
Iowa most recently downed NC Central, 106-39, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa, on Saturday. Megan Gustafson posted a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Hawkeyes, while Makenzie Meyer had 16 points and Hannah Stewart had 15.
With a win, WVU would face the winner of the Florida State/Eastern Kentucky matchup at 6:45 p.m. on Saturday. The third/fourth place contest will tipoff at 4:15 p.m. on Saturday.
Players Mentioned
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