Post by rainman on Nov 22, 2007 9:29:31 GMT -5
Women's Basketball: No.16 WVU Falls
By Christopher Marshall for MSNsportsNET.com
November 21, 2007
CHARLESTON, W.Va. - On an evening that was billed as the homecoming for Charleston native Alexis Hornbuckle, the game between No. 1 Tennessee and No. 16 West Virginia quickly turned into the Candace Parker show.
The two-time All-American and 2006 National Player of the Year led all scorers with 29 points while adding 13 rebounds and three blocked shots to lead the Lady Vols to a 67-49 victory over West Virginia Wednesday night at the Charleston Civic Center.
“I’m very disappointed in the way we played. I think they exposed some of our weaknesses and rest assured they will be addressed,” West Virginia Coach Mike Carey said.” This type of game is to show you what you need to work on, who can play and who can’t and that will be addressed in practice.”
Parker’s first basket of the night came on a feed from point guard Shannon Bobbit to give Tennessee a 5-4 lead just three minutes into the game. With UT up 9-4, Parker ripped off 10 straight points on a variety of lay ups, tip-ins and short jumpers to give the Volunteers a 19-9 lead with 11:43 left in the first half.
“She’s the best player in the country in my opinion. I have seen a lot of players the last two years but there is no doubt she is the best,” Carey said. “She can go out on the perimeter but she can also post you and pass and dribble the ball well. I’d like to have about three of them.”
Senior center Nicky Anosike established a beautiful high-low game with Parker early. Anosike received the ball at the high post and continually fed Parker in stride for easy lay ups and open shots. The 6-4 center was a difference maker for Tennessee, filling out her stat line with 10 points eight rebounds, six steals, five assists and two blocked shots.
“With Candace we wanted to work the high-low against the zone and I thought Nicky (Anosike) and Alex (Fuller) did a good job of getting the ball down to her,” Tennessee Coach Pat Summit said.
“You have to give her teammates a lot of credit. They are unselfish, they play well together and they understand the role she plays for our basketball team,” Summit said. “It’s very difficult to defend her and to do it you’re going to have to double team and she does a great job of throwing out of double teams.”
The Mountaineers faced an early 24-12 deficit but fought back valiantly, responding with an 8-0 run capped by a Chakhia Cole driving lay up to make the score 24-20 with 5:20 remaining in the first half.
Undaunted, the defending national champions responded with an 11-0 run that was sparked by freshman forward Angie Bjorklund. She started the run with a mid-range jumper and then continued it, feeding Parker for a lay up on a nifty behind-the-back pass. After three straight points for Anosike and two lay ups in transition from Hornbuckle and Parker the score was 35-20 with 2:52 to go in the first half and Tennessee had blown a competitive game wide open.
The Lady Vols led 37-26 at halftime on the strength of 42 percent shooting from the floor. Tennessee also established a dominant edge on the boards, out rebounding a much smaller West Virginia team 28 to 16 in the first period.
West Virginia began the second half with a beautiful backdoor feed for a lay up from Chakhia Cole to Sparkle Davis but that was the lone bright spot of the second half for the Mountaineers.
The nation’s number one team used tenacious man-to-man defense, physical play and dominate rebounding to throw the knock out punch, exploding on a 11-3 run to gain a 48-31 advantage with 12:53 remaining.
“We just didn’t execute on offense. Tennessee played hard and got in the passing lanes but we just didn’t do what we needed to do,” Carey said. “We thought we had a game plan against that defense and we just didn’t do a very good job.”
West Virginia would twice cut the deficit to 14 points but would get no closer the rest of the way. Tennessee gain its largest lead at 63-43 on a Hornbuckle lay up with 5:27 to play.
The Lady Vols shot 42.6 percent for the game and also made good on 13 of 17 free throw attempts. The game was won on the glass and in transition. Tennessee took advantage of 16 offensive rebounds by turning them into 18 second half points and also held a 14-4 advantage in fast break points. For the game the Mountaineers were out rebounded 50-35.
“I thought Olayinka Sanni was very active on the boards but other than that I was very disappointed in our rebounding,” Carey said. “You can bet we will be working on boxing out over the next couple of weeks.’
Tennessee (4-0) used aggressive man-to-man defense to take West Virginia out of its offensive sets. The Mountaineers shot 30 percent for the game, including an ice-cold 22 percent in the second half.
Olayinka Sanni led WVU with 16 points and eight rebounds in 29 minutes of action. LaQuita Owens also reached double figures with 10 points.
The 10,677 fans that showed up for the contest, roughly half of them clad in the orange of Tennessee, marked the largest crowd ever to see a women’s basketball game in the state of West Virginia.
“It’s great for women’s basketball in the state and hopefully it draws more people out to support this West Virginia team. They have a very fine team and they play in a tough, competitive conference,” Summit said. “I think it’s important for teams to have that support in women’s basketball because it enhances your ability to recruit and compete at a high level.”
West Virginia (3-1) now has a quick turnaround as they battle American on Friday, Nov 23, in the URI Invitational in Kingston, R.I. Tip-off is set for noon.
By Christopher Marshall for MSNsportsNET.com
November 21, 2007
CHARLESTON, W.Va. - On an evening that was billed as the homecoming for Charleston native Alexis Hornbuckle, the game between No. 1 Tennessee and No. 16 West Virginia quickly turned into the Candace Parker show.
The two-time All-American and 2006 National Player of the Year led all scorers with 29 points while adding 13 rebounds and three blocked shots to lead the Lady Vols to a 67-49 victory over West Virginia Wednesday night at the Charleston Civic Center.
“I’m very disappointed in the way we played. I think they exposed some of our weaknesses and rest assured they will be addressed,” West Virginia Coach Mike Carey said.” This type of game is to show you what you need to work on, who can play and who can’t and that will be addressed in practice.”
Parker’s first basket of the night came on a feed from point guard Shannon Bobbit to give Tennessee a 5-4 lead just three minutes into the game. With UT up 9-4, Parker ripped off 10 straight points on a variety of lay ups, tip-ins and short jumpers to give the Volunteers a 19-9 lead with 11:43 left in the first half.
“She’s the best player in the country in my opinion. I have seen a lot of players the last two years but there is no doubt she is the best,” Carey said. “She can go out on the perimeter but she can also post you and pass and dribble the ball well. I’d like to have about three of them.”
Senior center Nicky Anosike established a beautiful high-low game with Parker early. Anosike received the ball at the high post and continually fed Parker in stride for easy lay ups and open shots. The 6-4 center was a difference maker for Tennessee, filling out her stat line with 10 points eight rebounds, six steals, five assists and two blocked shots.
“With Candace we wanted to work the high-low against the zone and I thought Nicky (Anosike) and Alex (Fuller) did a good job of getting the ball down to her,” Tennessee Coach Pat Summit said.
“You have to give her teammates a lot of credit. They are unselfish, they play well together and they understand the role she plays for our basketball team,” Summit said. “It’s very difficult to defend her and to do it you’re going to have to double team and she does a great job of throwing out of double teams.”
The Mountaineers faced an early 24-12 deficit but fought back valiantly, responding with an 8-0 run capped by a Chakhia Cole driving lay up to make the score 24-20 with 5:20 remaining in the first half.
Undaunted, the defending national champions responded with an 11-0 run that was sparked by freshman forward Angie Bjorklund. She started the run with a mid-range jumper and then continued it, feeding Parker for a lay up on a nifty behind-the-back pass. After three straight points for Anosike and two lay ups in transition from Hornbuckle and Parker the score was 35-20 with 2:52 to go in the first half and Tennessee had blown a competitive game wide open.
The Lady Vols led 37-26 at halftime on the strength of 42 percent shooting from the floor. Tennessee also established a dominant edge on the boards, out rebounding a much smaller West Virginia team 28 to 16 in the first period.
West Virginia began the second half with a beautiful backdoor feed for a lay up from Chakhia Cole to Sparkle Davis but that was the lone bright spot of the second half for the Mountaineers.
The nation’s number one team used tenacious man-to-man defense, physical play and dominate rebounding to throw the knock out punch, exploding on a 11-3 run to gain a 48-31 advantage with 12:53 remaining.
“We just didn’t execute on offense. Tennessee played hard and got in the passing lanes but we just didn’t do what we needed to do,” Carey said. “We thought we had a game plan against that defense and we just didn’t do a very good job.”
West Virginia would twice cut the deficit to 14 points but would get no closer the rest of the way. Tennessee gain its largest lead at 63-43 on a Hornbuckle lay up with 5:27 to play.
The Lady Vols shot 42.6 percent for the game and also made good on 13 of 17 free throw attempts. The game was won on the glass and in transition. Tennessee took advantage of 16 offensive rebounds by turning them into 18 second half points and also held a 14-4 advantage in fast break points. For the game the Mountaineers were out rebounded 50-35.
“I thought Olayinka Sanni was very active on the boards but other than that I was very disappointed in our rebounding,” Carey said. “You can bet we will be working on boxing out over the next couple of weeks.’
Tennessee (4-0) used aggressive man-to-man defense to take West Virginia out of its offensive sets. The Mountaineers shot 30 percent for the game, including an ice-cold 22 percent in the second half.
Olayinka Sanni led WVU with 16 points and eight rebounds in 29 minutes of action. LaQuita Owens also reached double figures with 10 points.
The 10,677 fans that showed up for the contest, roughly half of them clad in the orange of Tennessee, marked the largest crowd ever to see a women’s basketball game in the state of West Virginia.
“It’s great for women’s basketball in the state and hopefully it draws more people out to support this West Virginia team. They have a very fine team and they play in a tough, competitive conference,” Summit said. “I think it’s important for teams to have that support in women’s basketball because it enhances your ability to recruit and compete at a high level.”
West Virginia (3-1) now has a quick turnaround as they battle American on Friday, Nov 23, in the URI Invitational in Kingston, R.I. Tip-off is set for noon.
