WVU women upset No. 4 Rutgers
MORGANTOWN - The West Virginia University women's basketball program reached another level Tuesday night at the Coliseum.
The No. 12 Mountaineers rose up and knocked down No. 4 Rutgers, 63-54, thanks to a 19-3 run which turned a 33-24 deficit into a 43-36 lead midway of the second half.
A roaring crowd of 3,093 - the largest since Feb. 14, 2004 - saw the Big East battle between ranked teams. Rutgers is the highest-rated team WVU has ever defeated.
Making the triumph all the more remarkable is that the Mountaineers were able to stretch their home winning streak to 15 games without senior guard Meg Bulger, the second-leading scorer on the season, and also with 6-2 senior center Olayinka Sanni on the bench with four personal four during the team's classy comeback.
In snapping the Scarlet Knights' 12-game success string, West Virginia made its record 17-3 overall and 6-1 in the Big East.
Rutgers also is 17-3 but has a 7-1 league record. It had won six consecutive games on the road this year.
"I'm very proud of our young ladies," WVU Coach Mike Carey said. "They showed a lot of heart. They showed a lot of discipline. People stepped up because we needed them to do that."
He also credited the highly vocal fans.
"It was a great crowd and atmosphere," he said. "They really helped us going down the stretch. Once we got the lead, we got some backdoor cuts, some stops and some key rebounds.
"We opened up the post and that allowed us to penetrate. This is really a big win for us. A total team effort. We took care of the basketball. I think our players wanted it more than theirs did."
Rutgers Coach Vivian Stringer said, "They played hard and they played well. We couldn't stop them (during WVU's 19-3 run). And we made too many turnovers (19)."
The skirmish actually turned out to be a tale of two different halves. Rutgers shot 52.6 percent from the field to just 31 percent in leading throughout the opening 20 minutes, which ended 28-22.
Rutgers built that margin to 10 points at 32-22 as the second half began. But ties followed at 34 and 36 before freshman Liz Repella's 14-foot jumper gave West Virginia a 38-36 lead it never relinquished.
The Mountaineers' largest lead was nine points, first on Sparkle Davis' two free throws making it 53-44 and then on a pair of foul shots by Chakhia Cole for a 55-46 reading with 3:50 remaining.
WVU shot 52.2 percent in the second half and 40.4 for the game, while limiting RU to 33.3 percent and 41.3 overall.
The Mountaineers managed a 34-30 edge in rebounds and only 13 turnovers to 19.
LaQuita Owens scored a game-high 23 points to lead the winning attack. Davis was next with 14 points. Cole had a team-high seven rebounds and Ashley Powell a team-best five assists.
Four scorers hit double figures for Rutgers. Kia Vaughn and Matee Ajavon had 12 points each and Essence Carson and Epiphanny Prince tallied 11 apiece.
"We were playing as a team (during the 19-3 breakaway)," Owens said. "We knew we had to play harder during that stretch. We weren't going to quit. We stayed focused and made some shots."
"It was obvious everybody had to take up more of the slack," Davis said. "It feels good to contribute more than usual. I didn't know I had seven straight points in the first half.
"I just shot the ball and they started going in for me."
West Virginia goes on the road for its next game at Seton Hall on Sunday.
MORGANTOWN - The West Virginia University women's basketball program reached another level Tuesday night at the Coliseum.
The No. 12 Mountaineers rose up and knocked down No. 4 Rutgers, 63-54, thanks to a 19-3 run which turned a 33-24 deficit into a 43-36 lead midway of the second half.
A roaring crowd of 3,093 - the largest since Feb. 14, 2004 - saw the Big East battle between ranked teams. Rutgers is the highest-rated team WVU has ever defeated.
Making the triumph all the more remarkable is that the Mountaineers were able to stretch their home winning streak to 15 games without senior guard Meg Bulger, the second-leading scorer on the season, and also with 6-2 senior center Olayinka Sanni on the bench with four personal four during the team's classy comeback.
In snapping the Scarlet Knights' 12-game success string, West Virginia made its record 17-3 overall and 6-1 in the Big East.
Rutgers also is 17-3 but has a 7-1 league record. It had won six consecutive games on the road this year.
"I'm very proud of our young ladies," WVU Coach Mike Carey said. "They showed a lot of heart. They showed a lot of discipline. People stepped up because we needed them to do that."
He also credited the highly vocal fans.
"It was a great crowd and atmosphere," he said. "They really helped us going down the stretch. Once we got the lead, we got some backdoor cuts, some stops and some key rebounds.
"We opened up the post and that allowed us to penetrate. This is really a big win for us. A total team effort. We took care of the basketball. I think our players wanted it more than theirs did."
Rutgers Coach Vivian Stringer said, "They played hard and they played well. We couldn't stop them (during WVU's 19-3 run). And we made too many turnovers (19)."
The skirmish actually turned out to be a tale of two different halves. Rutgers shot 52.6 percent from the field to just 31 percent in leading throughout the opening 20 minutes, which ended 28-22.
Rutgers built that margin to 10 points at 32-22 as the second half began. But ties followed at 34 and 36 before freshman Liz Repella's 14-foot jumper gave West Virginia a 38-36 lead it never relinquished.
The Mountaineers' largest lead was nine points, first on Sparkle Davis' two free throws making it 53-44 and then on a pair of foul shots by Chakhia Cole for a 55-46 reading with 3:50 remaining.
WVU shot 52.2 percent in the second half and 40.4 for the game, while limiting RU to 33.3 percent and 41.3 overall.
The Mountaineers managed a 34-30 edge in rebounds and only 13 turnovers to 19.
LaQuita Owens scored a game-high 23 points to lead the winning attack. Davis was next with 14 points. Cole had a team-high seven rebounds and Ashley Powell a team-best five assists.
Four scorers hit double figures for Rutgers. Kia Vaughn and Matee Ajavon had 12 points each and Essence Carson and Epiphanny Prince tallied 11 apiece.
"We were playing as a team (during the 19-3 breakaway)," Owens said. "We knew we had to play harder during that stretch. We weren't going to quit. We stayed focused and made some shots."
"It was obvious everybody had to take up more of the slack," Davis said. "It feels good to contribute more than usual. I didn't know I had seven straight points in the first half.
"I just shot the ball and they started going in for me."
West Virginia goes on the road for its next game at Seton Hall on Sunday.
