ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The No. 22/23-ranked West Virginia University women's basketball team is set to play for the 2021 St. Pet Showcase Championship, as the Mountaineers prepare to square off against BYU on Saturday, Nov. 27, at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg.
Tipoff against the Cougars is set for 1 p.m. ET, on Saturday, with the contest being broadcast on FloHoops. The game also can be found on the Mountaineer Sports Network, including 98.3 FM/1490 AM WBKE, with Andrew Caridi on the call. Live stats can be found on tritonstats.com.
West Virginia and BYU meet for the first time in program history on Saturday. The Cougars are one of two teams on the Mountaineers have yet to face previously on the nonconference schedule. WVU also is scheduled to play Maryland-Eastern Shore on Wednesday, Dec. 29.
BYU (6-0, 0-0 WCC) is coming off a 61-54 win over No. 17/22 Florida State in its first game of the 2021 St. Pete Showcase. The Cougars forced 25 turnovers in the game, as Shaylee Gonzales led the team with five steals and three more players had two apiece.
Gonzales scored a team-high 24 points in the win, shooting 7-of-16 from the floor and 10-of-11 at the free-throw line. Point guard Maria Albiero also scored 10 points, made two 3's and hauled in three rebounds. She also tallied two assists and two steals in the victory.
Gonzales has already eclipsed 100 points this season and leads the team with 112 tallies (18.7 ppg). Paisley Harding (15.3) and Lauren Gustin (11.3) are the other two BYU players averaging double figures this season. Gustin also paces the squad in rebounding, with 67 boards and an average of 11.2 per game.
West Virginia is coming off a 65-57 win over Purdue in its opening contest of the 2021 St. Pete Showcase on Nov. 25. In a physical game that was tightly contested throughout, WVU fought hard to hold its lead for 39:03 in a game that was never tied and did not see the Mountaineers trail. West Virginia picked up 22 points off 24 turnovers and saw its bench score 30 or more points for the fourth consecutive game.
Junior guard
KK Deans led WVU in scoring for the second straight game and tallied a team-high 12 points against the Boilermakers. Fifth-year senior forward
Ari Gray joined Deans in double figures and netted 10 points. Fifth-year senior center
Blessing Ejiofor led West Virginia's rebounding efforts, tallying eight boards in the contest.
WVU finished the game shooting 27-of-57 (47.4%) from the floor and scored 42 of its 65 points in the paint
The Mountaineers forced 24 turnovers from Purdue, including 11 steals, and blocked five shots.
