Saturday, December 15
Charleston, W.Va.
4:00 p.m.
West Virginia University
vs
Eastern Kentucky
Photo by: Brian Persinger
West Virginia Set for EKU Rematch in Charleston
December 14, 2018 04:23 PM | Women's Basketball
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The West Virginia University women's basketball team squares off with Eastern Kentucky for the second time this season on Saturday at the Charleston Coliseum & Convention Center in Charleston, West Virginia. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m.
Tickets are available through Ticketmaster, both online at Ticketmaster.com and by phone at 1-800-745-3000. Tickets can also be purchased in-person at the Charleston Coliseum & Convention Center Box Office. The cost of tickets will be $5 for the general public, and $3 per ticket for groups of 10 or more. Group tickets are only available in-person at the box office.
Dan Zangrilli and Ayana Dunning will have the radio call on the Mountaineer Sports Network from IMG on Jack-FM 100.9, as well as various affiliates across the state, WVUsports.com and the TuneIn Radio app. No live stream will be available.
WVU will play at the newly renovated Charleston Coliseum & Civic Center for the 36th time since 1980. Though Marshall has been West Virginia's most common opponent at the arena, WVU has also faced Rutgers, Oklahoma State (pre-Big12), Georgetown and Tennessee, among others. WVU enters Saturday's contest with a 24-11 record at what was formerly known as the Charleston Civic Center. West Virginia has won three straight contests in Charleston, and has won 11 consecutive regular-season games there. The Mountaineers' last loss came on April 4, 2015, when they fell to UCLA, 62-60, in the WNIT title game. The team's last regular-season loss came on Nov. 21, 2007, at the hands of No. 16 Tennessee (67-49). WVU claimed a 75-55 win over Radford on Dec. 16, 2017, in Charleston last season.
The Mountaineers (5-2) and the Colonels (1-8) meet for the sixth time overall and second time this season on Saturday. West Virginia holds a 3-2 lead over Eastern Kentucky in a series that started on Nov. 21, 1980, when WVU fell to EKU, 97-69, on the road. Prior to this year, the two had not met since Nov. 15, 2014, when the then-No. 17 Mountaineers claimed a 67-42 win at the WVU Coliseum. After starting the series 0-2, West Virginia has won three straight over the Colonels.
WVU and EKU also squared off on Nov. 24, at Gateway Christian Academy in Bimini, Bahamas, as part of Junkanoo Jam, with the Mountaineers coming out on top with an 81-39 win. Redshirt sophomore guard Kysre Gondrezick and redshirt junior guard Tynice Martin had 17 points each with Martin grabbing 11 rebounds for a double-double. The Mountaineers shot 45.9 percent from the field with nine 3-pointers in the game. Caitie Kaifes led Eastern Kentucky with 13 points as the Colonels were limited to 29.2 percent from the field and 28 percent from beyond the arc.
"We played pretty well (the first time)," said coach Mike Carey. "My biggest concern right now is that we played pretty well. (I don't want us) to go in there and stand around and just think we can show up. That's my biggest concern because they do have some shooters. Even that first quarter it was close because they were hitting 3-pointers and taking us inside some. Then, we got it going. My biggest concern is that (they need to) be ready to play."
Under the direction of coach Chrissy Roberts, Eastern Kentucky enters Saturday's contest with a 1-8 overall record. The Colonels' lone win of the season came on Dec. 5, when they defeated Kentucky Christian, 90-35. EKU is averaging 55.9 points and 34.7 rebounds per game and is shooting 36.2 percent overall and 29.0 percent from downtown as a team. Senior forward Abby Wright leads the team in scoring at 12.3 points per game, while Shay Solomon and Bria Bass are putting up an average of 9.9 points per game. Solomon and Bass also lead the effort on the glass with 6.1 boards per contest.
Eastern Kentucky is coming off a 91-75 loss to George Mason on Sunday.
The Mountaineers are coming off a 77-43 win over rival Pitt last week. WVU's 34-point win was its largest margin of victory over the Panthers in program history. The 2018 Backyard Brawl marked WVU's second win over Pitt in two years and the fifth straight overall dating back to 2011.
Martin had 26 points in the win, her highest total since returning from an injury that caused her to miss the 2017-18 season. The Atlanta native made a career-high six 3-pointers in the win.
Freshman forward Kari Niblack saw her second career start at forward and finished the day with nine points and seven rebounds. Senior forward Naomi Davenport (18) and Gondrezick (11) also finished in double figures.
Tickets are available through Ticketmaster, both online at Ticketmaster.com and by phone at 1-800-745-3000. Tickets can also be purchased in-person at the Charleston Coliseum & Convention Center Box Office. The cost of tickets will be $5 for the general public, and $3 per ticket for groups of 10 or more. Group tickets are only available in-person at the box office.
Dan Zangrilli and Ayana Dunning will have the radio call on the Mountaineer Sports Network from IMG on Jack-FM 100.9, as well as various affiliates across the state, WVUsports.com and the TuneIn Radio app. No live stream will be available.
WVU will play at the newly renovated Charleston Coliseum & Civic Center for the 36th time since 1980. Though Marshall has been West Virginia's most common opponent at the arena, WVU has also faced Rutgers, Oklahoma State (pre-Big12), Georgetown and Tennessee, among others. WVU enters Saturday's contest with a 24-11 record at what was formerly known as the Charleston Civic Center. West Virginia has won three straight contests in Charleston, and has won 11 consecutive regular-season games there. The Mountaineers' last loss came on April 4, 2015, when they fell to UCLA, 62-60, in the WNIT title game. The team's last regular-season loss came on Nov. 21, 2007, at the hands of No. 16 Tennessee (67-49). WVU claimed a 75-55 win over Radford on Dec. 16, 2017, in Charleston last season.
The Mountaineers (5-2) and the Colonels (1-8) meet for the sixth time overall and second time this season on Saturday. West Virginia holds a 3-2 lead over Eastern Kentucky in a series that started on Nov. 21, 1980, when WVU fell to EKU, 97-69, on the road. Prior to this year, the two had not met since Nov. 15, 2014, when the then-No. 17 Mountaineers claimed a 67-42 win at the WVU Coliseum. After starting the series 0-2, West Virginia has won three straight over the Colonels.
WVU and EKU also squared off on Nov. 24, at Gateway Christian Academy in Bimini, Bahamas, as part of Junkanoo Jam, with the Mountaineers coming out on top with an 81-39 win. Redshirt sophomore guard Kysre Gondrezick and redshirt junior guard Tynice Martin had 17 points each with Martin grabbing 11 rebounds for a double-double. The Mountaineers shot 45.9 percent from the field with nine 3-pointers in the game. Caitie Kaifes led Eastern Kentucky with 13 points as the Colonels were limited to 29.2 percent from the field and 28 percent from beyond the arc.
"We played pretty well (the first time)," said coach Mike Carey. "My biggest concern right now is that we played pretty well. (I don't want us) to go in there and stand around and just think we can show up. That's my biggest concern because they do have some shooters. Even that first quarter it was close because they were hitting 3-pointers and taking us inside some. Then, we got it going. My biggest concern is that (they need to) be ready to play."
Under the direction of coach Chrissy Roberts, Eastern Kentucky enters Saturday's contest with a 1-8 overall record. The Colonels' lone win of the season came on Dec. 5, when they defeated Kentucky Christian, 90-35. EKU is averaging 55.9 points and 34.7 rebounds per game and is shooting 36.2 percent overall and 29.0 percent from downtown as a team. Senior forward Abby Wright leads the team in scoring at 12.3 points per game, while Shay Solomon and Bria Bass are putting up an average of 9.9 points per game. Solomon and Bass also lead the effort on the glass with 6.1 boards per contest.
Eastern Kentucky is coming off a 91-75 loss to George Mason on Sunday.
The Mountaineers are coming off a 77-43 win over rival Pitt last week. WVU's 34-point win was its largest margin of victory over the Panthers in program history. The 2018 Backyard Brawl marked WVU's second win over Pitt in two years and the fifth straight overall dating back to 2011.
Martin had 26 points in the win, her highest total since returning from an injury that caused her to miss the 2017-18 season. The Atlanta native made a career-high six 3-pointers in the win.
Freshman forward Kari Niblack saw her second career start at forward and finished the day with nine points and seven rebounds. Senior forward Naomi Davenport (18) and Gondrezick (11) also finished in double figures.
Players Mentioned
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