WVU and UCLA Square Off in WNIT Championship
· WVU Notes
· UCLA Notes
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (April 3, 2015) -[/B] The West Virginia University women's basketball team vies for its first postseason title when the Mountaineers host UCLA in the 2015 Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) Championship on Saturday, April 4. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. at the Charleston Civic Center, and the game will air nationally on CBS Sports Network.
WVU (23-14) has reached the WNIT Championship game for the second time after appearing in the title game in 2005. The Mountaineers fell 78-70 to Southwest Missouri State, now Missouri State, in Springfield.
"I told the players before we broke today for practice that they can do something special here at West Virginia University," said coach Mike Carey. "On the women's side, they have never won the NIT or the NCAA. They can go out on a special note. They have a great opportunity to do that."
The Mountaineers and Bruins (18-18) meet for the fourth time on Saturday with UCLA holding a 2-1 edge in the all-time series. West Virginia won the last meeting on November 25, 2011, 63-54 over the then ranked No. 24 Bruins at the Woodland Hills Holiday Inn Thanksgiving Classic in Northridge California.
All tickets are general admission. Adult tickets are $7 each and can be purchased in person at the Charleston Civic Center Box Office, through Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000 or online at Ticketmaster.com. Fans are encouraged to purchase their tickets online and select the Print-At-Home option.
A special $5 general admission ticket is available for youth 18 and under. A group rate also is available for groups of 10 or more at $4 per ticket. Youth tickets and group tickets must be purchased in person at the Charleston Civic Center Box Office only. Youth tickets and group tickets may not be purchased online or by phone.
WVU students and Carey's Crew members receive free admission courtesy of United Bank. A valid student ID or Carey's Crew membership card must be shown to receive the free ticket.
Fans can watch the game on CBS Sports Network (Morgantown: Comcast 854, DirecTV 221 and Dish 158). Jeff Culhane and Meg Bulger are set to have the call on the Mountaineer Sports Network from IMG. Listen on various affiliates across the state, online at WVUsports.com or via the TuneIn Radio app.
West Virginia has reeled off five consecutive victories, which includes a 66-58 overtime thriller over Temple on Wednesday. Bria Holmes paced WVU with her 15th 20-point contest, etching a game-high 22 points and Averee Fields added 20 points. Lanay Montgomery's combination of eight blocks and 24 blocks marked the first time that a WVU men's or women's basketball player had achieved that feat.
Holmes paces West Virginia with 19.0 points and ranks second in the Big 12 in scoring. Montgomery's 3.3 blocks per game is 10th nationally.
UCLA has won eight of its last 10 games, including five straight wins. The Bruins fell 67-62 to No. 3-seed Stanford in the Pac-12 Tournament quarterfinals on March 6.
"They have talent," said Carey. "They have athletes, shooters and some size. They have a quick point guard and big time shooter."
In the WNIT, UCLA is boasting 71.6 points per game and shooting 45.9 percent from the field. Three Bruins are averaging double figures this season with Nirra Fields leading the way with 15.4 points per game. Jordin Canda and Kari Korver round out double-figure scorers with 11.2 and 10.2 points, respectively.
WNIT TIDBITS
- West Virginia makes its ninth consecutive postseason appearance and the 14th overall in program history.
- The Mountaineers are appearing in the Postseason Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) for the fourth time and the first since the 2009 season.
- WVU went 1-1 in 2009 falling to St. Bonaventure in the second round.
- In 2005, WVU won four consecutive games to reach the WNIT Championship game, eventually falling 78-70 at Southwest Missouri State.
- WVU women's basketball has never won a postseason tournament. The men captured NIT titles in 1942 and 2007.
WHY CHARLESTON?
- West Virginia and UCLA will square off in the WNIT Championship at the Charleston Civic Center. The WVU Coliseum is in use this Saturday playing host to the NCAA Gymnastics Regionals.
- After consultation with the NCAA Statistics staff, Saturday's game is treated as a home game statistically for WVU.
Keep up with West Virginia women's basketball on Instagram and Twitter by following @WVUWBB.[/I]
· WVU Notes
· UCLA Notes
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (April 3, 2015) -[/B] The West Virginia University women's basketball team vies for its first postseason title when the Mountaineers host UCLA in the 2015 Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) Championship on Saturday, April 4. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. at the Charleston Civic Center, and the game will air nationally on CBS Sports Network.
WVU (23-14) has reached the WNIT Championship game for the second time after appearing in the title game in 2005. The Mountaineers fell 78-70 to Southwest Missouri State, now Missouri State, in Springfield.
"I told the players before we broke today for practice that they can do something special here at West Virginia University," said coach Mike Carey. "On the women's side, they have never won the NIT or the NCAA. They can go out on a special note. They have a great opportunity to do that."
The Mountaineers and Bruins (18-18) meet for the fourth time on Saturday with UCLA holding a 2-1 edge in the all-time series. West Virginia won the last meeting on November 25, 2011, 63-54 over the then ranked No. 24 Bruins at the Woodland Hills Holiday Inn Thanksgiving Classic in Northridge California.
All tickets are general admission. Adult tickets are $7 each and can be purchased in person at the Charleston Civic Center Box Office, through Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000 or online at Ticketmaster.com. Fans are encouraged to purchase their tickets online and select the Print-At-Home option.
A special $5 general admission ticket is available for youth 18 and under. A group rate also is available for groups of 10 or more at $4 per ticket. Youth tickets and group tickets must be purchased in person at the Charleston Civic Center Box Office only. Youth tickets and group tickets may not be purchased online or by phone.
WVU students and Carey's Crew members receive free admission courtesy of United Bank. A valid student ID or Carey's Crew membership card must be shown to receive the free ticket.
Fans can watch the game on CBS Sports Network (Morgantown: Comcast 854, DirecTV 221 and Dish 158). Jeff Culhane and Meg Bulger are set to have the call on the Mountaineer Sports Network from IMG. Listen on various affiliates across the state, online at WVUsports.com or via the TuneIn Radio app.
West Virginia has reeled off five consecutive victories, which includes a 66-58 overtime thriller over Temple on Wednesday. Bria Holmes paced WVU with her 15th 20-point contest, etching a game-high 22 points and Averee Fields added 20 points. Lanay Montgomery's combination of eight blocks and 24 blocks marked the first time that a WVU men's or women's basketball player had achieved that feat.
Holmes paces West Virginia with 19.0 points and ranks second in the Big 12 in scoring. Montgomery's 3.3 blocks per game is 10th nationally.
UCLA has won eight of its last 10 games, including five straight wins. The Bruins fell 67-62 to No. 3-seed Stanford in the Pac-12 Tournament quarterfinals on March 6.
"They have talent," said Carey. "They have athletes, shooters and some size. They have a quick point guard and big time shooter."
In the WNIT, UCLA is boasting 71.6 points per game and shooting 45.9 percent from the field. Three Bruins are averaging double figures this season with Nirra Fields leading the way with 15.4 points per game. Jordin Canda and Kari Korver round out double-figure scorers with 11.2 and 10.2 points, respectively.
WNIT TIDBITS
- West Virginia makes its ninth consecutive postseason appearance and the 14th overall in program history.
- The Mountaineers are appearing in the Postseason Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) for the fourth time and the first since the 2009 season.
- WVU went 1-1 in 2009 falling to St. Bonaventure in the second round.
- In 2005, WVU won four consecutive games to reach the WNIT Championship game, eventually falling 78-70 at Southwest Missouri State.
- WVU women's basketball has never won a postseason tournament. The men captured NIT titles in 1942 and 2007.
WHY CHARLESTON?
- West Virginia and UCLA will square off in the WNIT Championship at the Charleston Civic Center. The WVU Coliseum is in use this Saturday playing host to the NCAA Gymnastics Regionals.
- After consultation with the NCAA Statistics staff, Saturday's game is treated as a home game statistically for WVU.
Keep up with West Virginia women's basketball on Instagram and Twitter by following @WVUWBB.[/I]
