MORGANTOWN, W.Va.
– Less than 48 hours after posting a win over James Madison, the West Virginia women's basketball team will host St. John's on Sunday in a WNIT Quarterfinal matchup. Tipoff is slated for 4 p.m. inside the WVU Coliseum.
Tickets are available at a cost of $6 for general admission, $4 for youth tickets and $3 for groups of 10 or more. Carey's Crew and Mountaineer Kids Club members receive free admission courtesy of United Bank, while WVU students also receive free admission. A valid student ID, MKC or Carey's Crew membership card must be shown to receive the free ticket.
Popcorn will be $1 at the concession stands. Fans will receive shakers and mini banners while supplies last.
Dan Zangrilli and
Ayana Dunning will have the call for the Mountaineer Sports Network from IMG. Fans can listen to the game on Jack-FM 100.9 in the Morgantown/Fairmont area, as well as TuneIn, the WVU GameDay app, WVUsports.com and affiliates around the state. A free live stream will also be available on WVUsports.com.
The Mountaineers (24-11) advanced to the WNIT Quarterfinals for the third time in program history with a 67-55 win over James Madison on Friday at the WVU Coliseum. Senior forward
Kristina King scored a career-high 17 points to go with a trio of blocks in the win over the Dukes. Junior guard/forward
Naomi Davenport just missed a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds to go along with three steals. Junior guard
Katrina Pardee netted 16 points, while senior guard
Chania Ray also finished in double figures with 10 points. Senior forward
Teana Muldrow led the rebounding effort with 10 boards, also just missing a double-double with nine points.
West Virginia limited the Dukes to under 12 percent shooting in both the second and fourth quarters.
Two former BIG EAST foes in WVU and St. John's meet for the 25th time on Sunday. West Virginia enters the matchup with an 18-6 lead in the overall series, which dates back to January of 1996.
St. John's won the two most recent meetings in February of 2012 and in the 2011 BIG EAST Tournament, though WVU won 11 of 12 meetings from February of 2002 to February of 2011.
The Mountaineers are 10-1 in Morgantown, with their lone loss coming in January of 2000 by a score of 61-55. However, the game was played at Morgantown High, leaving WVU undefeated against SJU at the WVU Coliseum.
West Virginia fell to the Johnnies, 63-54, in Queens, New York, on Feb. 21, 2012. Current WVU Coordinator of Player Development
Ayana Dunning led WVU in scoring with 21 points and posted 16 rebounds for a double-double, while current WVU assistant coach
Christal Caldwell had 14 points and a pair of assists.
St. John's enters Sunday's contest with a 19-14 overall mark, having won three straight. SJU went 9-9 in BIG EAST play, falling in the tournament to Creighton by a score of 66-58. The Johnnies are averaging 66.0 points and 35.1 rebounds per game and are shooting 42.3 percent from the field, 35.3 percent from beyond the arc and 70.4 percent at the free-throw line.
Three of five starters average in double-figure scoring, but six players average nine points or more per contest. Maya Singleton leads the scoring at 11.2 points per game and is also the top rebounder with 11.1 boards per contest. Qadashah Hoppie averages 10.3 points per game, while Akina Wellere posts 10.1 points per game. Tiana England has a team-best 169 assists on the season.
The winner will play either Virginia Tech or Alabama in the WNIT Semifinals.