Post by rainman on Dec 7, 2007 6:56:36 GMT -5
WVU’s No. 13-ranked women visit Duquesne
MORGANTOWN — The 13th-ranked West Virginia University women’s basketball team visits Pittsburgh on Friday night for a non-conference game against Duquesne.
Tip-off time is 7 o’clock at A.J. Palumbo Center.
Sporting a 7-1 record, the Mountaineers will be seeking a fifth consecutive victory of the young season and eighth in a row over the Lady Dukes, who are 5-3 so far this season.
WVU won last year’s meeting in Morgantown by a 77-42 score. It is leading the all-time series by a 31-7 margin. But coach Mike Carey said Duquesne is much improved.
“They have a new coach, and they are playing very hard for her,” he said Thursday afternoon. “They have some quality guards. They went overtime with Cincinnati, and they beat Robert Morris which last year went to the NCAAs and has everybody back.”
The Mountaineers are shooting 47.5 percent from the field to 31.5 percent and outrebounding opponents by a whopping 40.9-31.4 margin. They also are playing solid defense.
Suzie McConnell-Serio, now coaching Duquesne, is a graduate of Penn State, where she earned All-America as a player. When coaching in the WNBA, she drafted former WVU star Kate Bulger two years ago.
McConnell-Serio has eight letter-winners back, including three starters, from last year’s squad which posted a 7-20 record.
Since suffering their lone loss of the season to No. 1ranked Tennessee on Nov. 21 in Charleston, the Mountaineers won the URI Invitational with victories over American University and Rhode Island and then took the FAU Holiday Classic by beating St. Bonaventure and Columbia.
Olayinka Sanni, 6-2 center, continues to lead WVU in both scoring (13.5) and rebounding (7.5). Also scoring in double figures are LaQuita Owens (13.5), Meg Bulger (12,7) and Chakhia Cole (11.0).
This is WVU’s sixth straight game away from home, though some were on neutral sites, and the last until after next week’s final examinations. The team will resume action on Saturday, Dec. 15, against Presbyterian at home.
MORGANTOWN — The 13th-ranked West Virginia University women’s basketball team visits Pittsburgh on Friday night for a non-conference game against Duquesne.
Tip-off time is 7 o’clock at A.J. Palumbo Center.
Sporting a 7-1 record, the Mountaineers will be seeking a fifth consecutive victory of the young season and eighth in a row over the Lady Dukes, who are 5-3 so far this season.
WVU won last year’s meeting in Morgantown by a 77-42 score. It is leading the all-time series by a 31-7 margin. But coach Mike Carey said Duquesne is much improved.
“They have a new coach, and they are playing very hard for her,” he said Thursday afternoon. “They have some quality guards. They went overtime with Cincinnati, and they beat Robert Morris which last year went to the NCAAs and has everybody back.”
The Mountaineers are shooting 47.5 percent from the field to 31.5 percent and outrebounding opponents by a whopping 40.9-31.4 margin. They also are playing solid defense.
Suzie McConnell-Serio, now coaching Duquesne, is a graduate of Penn State, where she earned All-America as a player. When coaching in the WNBA, she drafted former WVU star Kate Bulger two years ago.
McConnell-Serio has eight letter-winners back, including three starters, from last year’s squad which posted a 7-20 record.
Since suffering their lone loss of the season to No. 1ranked Tennessee on Nov. 21 in Charleston, the Mountaineers won the URI Invitational with victories over American University and Rhode Island and then took the FAU Holiday Classic by beating St. Bonaventure and Columbia.
Olayinka Sanni, 6-2 center, continues to lead WVU in both scoring (13.5) and rebounding (7.5). Also scoring in double figures are LaQuita Owens (13.5), Meg Bulger (12,7) and Chakhia Cole (11.0).
This is WVU’s sixth straight game away from home, though some were on neutral sites, and the last until after next week’s final examinations. The team will resume action on Saturday, Dec. 15, against Presbyterian at home.
