Post by rainman on Nov 4, 2007 9:21:20 GMT -5
WVU women play exhibition game
By Mickey Furfari
For the Times West Virginian
MORGANTOWN— The West Virginia University women’s basketball team, ranked in the preseason Top 25 for the first time, plays Concord University at 2 p.m. today in the only exhibition game on its schedule.
There is no charge for admission.
“I think we’re all ready to play a game,” said Olyinka Sanni, 6-2 senior center from Chicago Heights, Ill. “We’re anxious to get started. Once the game starts, I think everything is going to fall into place.”
West Virginia learned Saturday that it is ranked 18th in The Associated Press preseason poll. WVU was ranked No. 22 in the USAToday/ESPN coaches’ poll earlier.
The Mountaineers join six other Big East teams in The AP rankings. Those are Connecticut (No. 2), Rutgers (No. 3), Pittsburgh (No. 20), Louisville (No. 21), Notre Dame (No. 24), and DePaul (No. 25).
It’s just the third time that a conference has had seven teams in the preseason Top 25.
Tennessee, which plays West Virginia later this month in Charleston, was voted No. 1.
The Mountaineers have all five starters back from last year’s squad which went 21-11, finished fourth in the Big East at 11-5, and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament.
Sanni, a unanimous choice for the all-Big East preseason first team, averaged 14.0 points and 6.7 rebounds per game in 2006-07 and had 55 steals and 30 shot-blocks.
Concord posted a 21-9 record in the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Association last season. Coach Kenny Osborne returns nine of his top 10 players from that squad, and the Lions are picked to win the conference crown this season.
Kate Glusko, who played at WVU in 2005-06, is in her second year as assistant coach at Concord.
The Mountaineers, under seventh-year head coach Mike Carey, will start the regular season at 7 p.m. next Friday when Canisius visits the Coliseum.
Sanni said, “We play a lot of ranked teams this year. I’m ready to fill my role for the last time. I feel I must play had to help this team.”
Like teammates, she’s excited that WVU is ranked going into 2007-08. It’s what she, Chakhia Cole and LaQuita Owens dedicated to help build when they enrolled as freshmen four years ago.
“We wanted to help the state of West Virginia, and it’s our job to represent the state very well as a Top 25 team,” Sanni said. “At first we wondered if we could do it against schools like Rutgers and Connecticut.
“But every year we’ve gotten better under Coach Carey. We’ve taken advantage of opportunities. Now we’re going to just come out and compete.
“We’re not going to worry about opponents. We’re going to be concerned just about us playing our game. Then at the end of the year, we’ll look and see where we are.”
Meg Bulger, coming back after missing a year and a half with a pair of major knee injuries, is being banked on to play a key role. She has performed well in preseason practice.
By Mickey Furfari
For the Times West Virginian
MORGANTOWN— The West Virginia University women’s basketball team, ranked in the preseason Top 25 for the first time, plays Concord University at 2 p.m. today in the only exhibition game on its schedule.
There is no charge for admission.
“I think we’re all ready to play a game,” said Olyinka Sanni, 6-2 senior center from Chicago Heights, Ill. “We’re anxious to get started. Once the game starts, I think everything is going to fall into place.”
West Virginia learned Saturday that it is ranked 18th in The Associated Press preseason poll. WVU was ranked No. 22 in the USAToday/ESPN coaches’ poll earlier.
The Mountaineers join six other Big East teams in The AP rankings. Those are Connecticut (No. 2), Rutgers (No. 3), Pittsburgh (No. 20), Louisville (No. 21), Notre Dame (No. 24), and DePaul (No. 25).
It’s just the third time that a conference has had seven teams in the preseason Top 25.
Tennessee, which plays West Virginia later this month in Charleston, was voted No. 1.
The Mountaineers have all five starters back from last year’s squad which went 21-11, finished fourth in the Big East at 11-5, and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament.
Sanni, a unanimous choice for the all-Big East preseason first team, averaged 14.0 points and 6.7 rebounds per game in 2006-07 and had 55 steals and 30 shot-blocks.
Concord posted a 21-9 record in the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Association last season. Coach Kenny Osborne returns nine of his top 10 players from that squad, and the Lions are picked to win the conference crown this season.
Kate Glusko, who played at WVU in 2005-06, is in her second year as assistant coach at Concord.
The Mountaineers, under seventh-year head coach Mike Carey, will start the regular season at 7 p.m. next Friday when Canisius visits the Coliseum.
Sanni said, “We play a lot of ranked teams this year. I’m ready to fill my role for the last time. I feel I must play had to help this team.”
Like teammates, she’s excited that WVU is ranked going into 2007-08. It’s what she, Chakhia Cole and LaQuita Owens dedicated to help build when they enrolled as freshmen four years ago.
“We wanted to help the state of West Virginia, and it’s our job to represent the state very well as a Top 25 team,” Sanni said. “At first we wondered if we could do it against schools like Rutgers and Connecticut.
“But every year we’ve gotten better under Coach Carey. We’ve taken advantage of opportunities. Now we’re going to just come out and compete.
“We’re not going to worry about opponents. We’re going to be concerned just about us playing our game. Then at the end of the year, we’ll look and see where we are.”
Meg Bulger, coming back after missing a year and a half with a pair of major knee injuries, is being banked on to play a key role. She has performed well in preseason practice.
