WVU Drops Heartbreaker to UCLA[/B]
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (April 4, 2015) - The West Virginia University women's basketball team fell in heartbreaking fashion with a 62-60 loss to UCLA in the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) Championship on Saturday in front of 8,403 fans at the Charleston Civic Center.
WVU (23-15) led by six with seven minutes remaining. However, UCLA (19-18) fought back to tie the game with a Kari Korver three-pointer with 4:19 remaining. On the next offensive possession, Jordin Canada nailed a layup that would up the Bruins up for good.
The Mountaineers cut the game to one with a Linda Stepney layup at the 44 second mark. Nearly 25 seconds later, UCLA stretched their lead to five with two Canada free throws. Stepney connected on a triple with 12 seconds left, but the Mountaineers were out of timeouts and unable to foul as the Bruins collected their first WNIT title.
"Let me congratulate UCLA," said coach Mike Carey. "They came in here and played hard. Congratulations to them. I'd like to thank our school and administration for giving us this opportunity. I'd like to thank the fans for a great crowd, great atmosphere and for supporting us here."
Three Mountaineers scored in double-figures as senior Averee Fields finished with a team-high 17 points. Bria Holmes scored 14, dished out six assists and collected five rebounds. Linda Stepney had 10 points, while senior Crystal of followed with eight rebounds.
Fields and Holmes were named to the WNIT All-Tournament team. Fields averaged 17.7 points and 8.2 rebounds during the six-game tournament. Holmes followed with 16.8 points and 21 assists. UCLA's Canada was tabbed tournament MVP after boasting a game-high 31 points.
Overall there were 12 ties and 10 lead changes during the contest. The Mountaineers finished shooting 32.8 percent (19-of-58) from the field, while the Bruins connected on 38.5 percent (20-of-52). UCLA won the points off turnover battle 17-13 and outscored WVU 26-20 in the paint.
West Virginia pushed its lead to six in the first half, but UCLA scored a layup in the final seconds to take a 30-28 halftime edge. Both teams shot 32 percent in the opening half with
WVU making 9-of-28 and UCLA connecting on 10-of-31. The Mountaineers outscored UCLA 12-6 in second chance point opportunities. Fields had eight points and UCLA's Canada paced UCLA with 14.
Both teams tied each other seven times in the first eight minutes of the second half. WVU pushed its lead to six with a Holmes layup at 7:22. From that point, UCLA tied the game again with four minutes left. Canada's layup at 3:45 helped the Bruins keep a lead they would never give up.
West Virginia finished the year at 23-15 and reached the WNIT Championship for the second time in 10 years. WVU set school records in games played (38), offensive rebounds (583) and blocks (242). Homes, who garnered WBCA All-America Honorable Mention, finished averaging 18.8 points and 4.4 rebounds. Her 719 points is second all-time in a single-season at WVU. Fields had an average of 13.8 points and six rebounds to close out her senior season. Saturday also marked the end of remarkable careers by Stepney (242 points and 175 assists this season) and Leary (192 points and 145 rebounds).
"They've won a lot of basketball games," said Carey of his seniors.. "I'm so proud of them. They don't need to hold their heads down. They've done a lot for this University and for this basketball program. They need to keep their heads up. They played hard down to the last second. I have nothing but praise for our three seniors."
NOTES:
The announced crowd of 8,403 is the second-largest to watch a WVU women's basketball game only event at the Charleston Civic Center the 8,403 attendance was the largest home crowd of the season for the Mountaineers WVU reached the WNIT Championships for the second time in program history and the first time since 2005 Bria Holmes scored in double figures for the 37th time this season and the 68th time in her career Holmes finished the season with 716 points, the second most in a single season in program history Averee Fields recorded her 33rd game in double figures this season and the 54th of her career Linda Stepney scored in double figures for the 13th time this season and the 21st time in her career West Virginia made its ninth consecutive postseason appearance and the 14th overall in program history the Mountaineers appeared in the WNIT for the fourth time and the first time since 2009
Keep up with West Virginia women's basketball on Instagram and Twitter by following @WVUWBB.[/I]
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (April 4, 2015) - The West Virginia University women's basketball team fell in heartbreaking fashion with a 62-60 loss to UCLA in the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) Championship on Saturday in front of 8,403 fans at the Charleston Civic Center.
WVU (23-15) led by six with seven minutes remaining. However, UCLA (19-18) fought back to tie the game with a Kari Korver three-pointer with 4:19 remaining. On the next offensive possession, Jordin Canada nailed a layup that would up the Bruins up for good.
The Mountaineers cut the game to one with a Linda Stepney layup at the 44 second mark. Nearly 25 seconds later, UCLA stretched their lead to five with two Canada free throws. Stepney connected on a triple with 12 seconds left, but the Mountaineers were out of timeouts and unable to foul as the Bruins collected their first WNIT title.
"Let me congratulate UCLA," said coach Mike Carey. "They came in here and played hard. Congratulations to them. I'd like to thank our school and administration for giving us this opportunity. I'd like to thank the fans for a great crowd, great atmosphere and for supporting us here."
Three Mountaineers scored in double-figures as senior Averee Fields finished with a team-high 17 points. Bria Holmes scored 14, dished out six assists and collected five rebounds. Linda Stepney had 10 points, while senior Crystal of followed with eight rebounds.
Fields and Holmes were named to the WNIT All-Tournament team. Fields averaged 17.7 points and 8.2 rebounds during the six-game tournament. Holmes followed with 16.8 points and 21 assists. UCLA's Canada was tabbed tournament MVP after boasting a game-high 31 points.
Overall there were 12 ties and 10 lead changes during the contest. The Mountaineers finished shooting 32.8 percent (19-of-58) from the field, while the Bruins connected on 38.5 percent (20-of-52). UCLA won the points off turnover battle 17-13 and outscored WVU 26-20 in the paint.
West Virginia pushed its lead to six in the first half, but UCLA scored a layup in the final seconds to take a 30-28 halftime edge. Both teams shot 32 percent in the opening half with
WVU making 9-of-28 and UCLA connecting on 10-of-31. The Mountaineers outscored UCLA 12-6 in second chance point opportunities. Fields had eight points and UCLA's Canada paced UCLA with 14.
Both teams tied each other seven times in the first eight minutes of the second half. WVU pushed its lead to six with a Holmes layup at 7:22. From that point, UCLA tied the game again with four minutes left. Canada's layup at 3:45 helped the Bruins keep a lead they would never give up.
West Virginia finished the year at 23-15 and reached the WNIT Championship for the second time in 10 years. WVU set school records in games played (38), offensive rebounds (583) and blocks (242). Homes, who garnered WBCA All-America Honorable Mention, finished averaging 18.8 points and 4.4 rebounds. Her 719 points is second all-time in a single-season at WVU. Fields had an average of 13.8 points and six rebounds to close out her senior season. Saturday also marked the end of remarkable careers by Stepney (242 points and 175 assists this season) and Leary (192 points and 145 rebounds).
"They've won a lot of basketball games," said Carey of his seniors.. "I'm so proud of them. They don't need to hold their heads down. They've done a lot for this University and for this basketball program. They need to keep their heads up. They played hard down to the last second. I have nothing but praise for our three seniors."
NOTES:
The announced crowd of 8,403 is the second-largest to watch a WVU women's basketball game only event at the Charleston Civic Center the 8,403 attendance was the largest home crowd of the season for the Mountaineers WVU reached the WNIT Championships for the second time in program history and the first time since 2005 Bria Holmes scored in double figures for the 37th time this season and the 68th time in her career Holmes finished the season with 716 points, the second most in a single season in program history Averee Fields recorded her 33rd game in double figures this season and the 54th of her career Linda Stepney scored in double figures for the 13th time this season and the 21st time in her career West Virginia made its ninth consecutive postseason appearance and the 14th overall in program history the Mountaineers appeared in the WNIT for the fourth time and the first time since 2009
Keep up with West Virginia women's basketball on Instagram and Twitter by following @WVUWBB.[/I]
