West Virginia Downs Cincinnati
Ali earned her sixth double-double of the season in the win, pulling down 11 boards to go with her double-digit scoring effort. Her consistent and steady play emphasized the play of the entire team, which stepped up its performance on both offense and defense to dominate Big East foe Cincinnati. Liz Repella and Asya Bussie rounded out the top three in scoring, putting up 11 and 10 points, respectively. Yet it was their defensive play that stood out the most, each blocking five shots to contribute to the overall team total of 17, marking a career-high for Repella. Korinne Campbell also had a career-high in blocks, matching her fellow starters with five. She also led the team in steals with four. “They have to buy into it and what wins for us is defense,” said coach Mike Carey. “I think that has always been my philosophy: play defense, rebound and shot selection and you can win some games. They have done a really good job buying into it and that’s the key. “It was good to see Korinne (Campbell) moving more today,” Carey added. “Hopefully she can build on this because we need her, especially going deeper into the BIG EAST. She is a tall guard and is harder to defend.” Seventeen blocks marks the third most in program history, and the highest number of blocks under current head coach Mike Carey. The record for most blocks in program history stands at 22, set against Marshall during the 1983-84 season. In addition, the Mountaineers’ (16-0, 3-0 BE) nation-best scoring defense also held the Bearcats (8-7, 1-2 BE) to only 19.7 percent (12-of-61) from the field, and 45.5 percent (5-11) from beyond the arc. West Virginia also held Cincinnati without a field goal over eight minutes in the second half. With this defensive performance, WVU has not allowed a team to score over 60 points or shoot better than 50 percent all season. “They are the No. 1 team in the country in defensive scoring for a reason,” said Cincinnati coach Jamelle Elliott. “They are physical, they deny you the ball, they switch every screen, they are athletic and they have some size to them so, yes, it was hard for us to get a shot. They took us out of what we were trying to run for the most part and they scored over their average. They were quick on both sides of the floor and I give them all the credit in the world.” With the defense holding strong, the offense was able to break away, leading by as much as 28 points as time expired. The Mountaineers stayed consistent throughout the game, shooting with 46.9 percent (15-of-32) accuracy from the field in the first half and 43.5 percent (10-of-23) from the field in the second half. WVU’s bench contributed 22 points in the victory, as Brooke Hampton and Vanessa House had combined for 15 points by halftime. Taylor Palmer, Bianca Jarrett and Ayana Dunning added the remaining nine. With the win, the Mountaineers have increased their consecutive winning streak at home to 28 wins, and are now 110-25 at the Coliseum under coach Carey. The team also retains its position as the only undefeated team in the BIG EAST. Along with Duke and Florida Gulf Coast, the team also remains one of only three undefeated teams in the nation. Shareese Ulis led the Bearcat scoring efforts with 16 points in 33 minutes of play. She was followed by Kayla Cook, who put up eight points. The 20th largest crowd in program history attended the game, with 2,797 fans coming out to watch the team. The Mountaineers return to action on Tuesday, January 11, when they take on Marquette at the Al McGuire Center. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. with a live radio broadcast being offered on MSNsportsNET.com. Travis Jones will be on the call. |
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