West Virginia Drops Close Contest
Mike Carey knew at the start of the game that turnovers and rebounds would prove key in what was sure to be a physical match against the Hoyas (16-5, 5-3 BIG EAST). The Mountaineers (14-6, 4-3 BIG EAST) ultimately won the rebounding battle, 40-31, to continue their streak of out-rebounding all league opponents thus far. They also turned the ball over 30 times, however, ending their chances to pull off the upset win. “You are not going to win any games with 30 turnovers,” Carey said. Georgetown held a commanding 10 point lead, 48-38, with 5:05 remaining in regulation. But the Mountaineers stayed right in it, as Christal Caldwell sank a shot from the line and Taylor Palmer followed that up with her team-leading 52nd three of the season to help pull within six of the lead at 48-42 with 4:50 left to play. Two more free throws from Caldwell in response to a free throw from Georgetown’s Sugar Rodgers brought the score to 49-44 with 4:14 to go, but the Mountaineers would be unable to come any closer to the lead after that point. “We had a great game plan against their pressure; full court and three quarter didn’t hurt us, it was half court. We broke their pressure real easy and then when we broke it, our guards started looking back at half court instead of attacking,” said Carey. Caldwell once again led the Mountaineer scoring efforts, posting a career-high 25 points and pulling down nine boards against the Hoyas. She has now recorded double-figure scoring numbers in each of the last eight games. Behind Caldwell, Palmer chipped in 15 points in just 22 minutes of play. Defensively, West Virginia held Georgetown and BIG EAST leading scorer Rodgers to 17 points, three points below her scoring average. “We did an excellent job on (Sugar) Rodgers,” Carey said. “She got most of her points at the end when we were fouling them. We located her very well and that is a start.” Additionally, Ayana Dunning led the Mountaineers on the boards, with 10 rebounds. She has now led West Virginia in rebounding in five of the last eight games. Behind Dunning and Caldwell, Jess Harlee grabbed seven rebounds. “I was very proud of our girls,” said Carey. “We weren’t scoring, but our defense was pretty good and we did a good job on Rodgers.” Georgetown was led in scoring by senior Tia Magee and Rodgers, who each scored 17 points. Behind them, senior Rubylee Wright posted eight points in the win. The Mountaineers return to action at the Coliseum on Saturday, Jan. 28 to play host to Marquette. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m., and the contest will air on WVPBS. Live video and stats will also be provided by MSNsportsNET.com. |
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