Knights Stunned

Knights Stunned

By John Antonik for MSNsportsNET.com March 6, 2006 BOX SCORE MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 12-seeded West Virginia Mountaineers have decided to ride their defense right into the Big East championship game. In perhaps the biggest upset in Big East tournament history, and easily the biggest upset in women’s college basketball this year, West Virginia stunned No. 1-seeded and sixth-ranked Rutgers 56-40 in the tournament’s first semifinal game at the Hartford Civic Center Monday night. West Virginia's Olayinka Sanni grabs a rebound as Rutgers' Kia Vaughn looks on from behind, during the first half of their Big East semifinal basketball game in Hartford, Conn., on Monday, March 6, 2006. AP photo/Fred Beckham The Mountaineers (15-15) will play Connecticut, which knocked off DePaul 69-57 in the second semifinal game, on Tuesday night at 7:30 pm on ESPN2. “Our young ladies have just done a great job and they believe in what we’re doing right now,” said an elated West Virginia coach Mike Carey. “After struggling for eight straight games and losing, a lot of people questioned us and to come out here tonight and get this win is just fantastic. “I’m just very proud (of these ladies) because we’ve had such a tough season,” Carey said. “To come up here and to see what we’ve done … this has made the season worthwhile.” “I thought West Virginia really deserved this win,” said Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer. “Their coach did a great job preparing them.” As it did in its previous two wins to reach the semifinals, West Virginia simply refused to let the other team score. Rutgers made only 14 of its 53 shot attempts for 26.4 percent while committing 23 turnovers. National player of the year candidate Cappie Pondexter was all the offense Rutgers could manage, scoring 21 of the team’s 40 points. But she did so by taking 25 shots. “Our match up zone did a good job,” said Carey. “We pinched very well and stopped their penetration and because of that we made them take some outside shots. When they went inside we got some turnovers.” “A zone only responds to the ball,” said Stringer. “There are five people on the ball, so if all five people on offense don’t move, don’t cut, don’t make the passes and read as they have to – unless you’re willing to make five of six passes against the zone – you will lose. And that’s exactly what happened.” On Saturday, the Mountaineers limited Louisville to just 14 of 53 from the floor and forced 20 turnovers on a 54-45 first-round victory. Yesterday, St. John’s suffered through a difficult 16 of 52 shooting effort while committing 16 turnovers. All three teams – each expected to be playing in the NCAA tournament – have combined to shoot just 27.8 percent (44 of 158) while committing 59 turnovers against West Virginia’s defense. Meanwhile, the Mountaineers have become the first No. 12 seed in Big East tournament history to knock off a No. 1 seed and also became the first 12 seed to reach the championship game. Even more mind boggling is the fact that West Virginia is in the title game despite failing to score at least 60 points in each of its tournament victories. West Virginia’s scoring futility actually dates all the way back to the DePaul game on Jan. 31 when it scored 82 points -- 11 games ago. Tonight, WVU got just enough offense from Britney Davis-White (21 points) and Chakhia Cole (18) to pull off their biggest upset in school history. This is the highest ranked team the women have managed to defeat and it’s only the second time in school history WVU has downed a Top-10 ranked team (WVU beat No. 8-ranked George Washington in 1992). “They outplayed us, they deserved to win,” said Stringer, noting that she could tell during her team’s walkthrough earlier today that something was awry. “I tried to tell our team this when I saw their posture. My statement was, ‘I have been coaching for so many years, that I can look at your face and know what you’re thinking.’ When I walked in, I could tell we were not ready. If you could have heard me speak to our team prior to the game, it would have sounded like we just lost to a kindergarten team.” Instead of a normal shoot-around, Stringer opted to give her team a walkthrough in the hotel ball room to save their legs for the championship game. “That should have been sufficient,” Stringer said. “We knew what they were doing. There was nothing different, they just executed and they wanted it more.” The game was played at West Virginia’s pace throughout with the Mountaineers taking an 18-16 lead into the locker room at halftime. After a Matee Ajavon jumper gave Rutgers a 13-6 lead, the Scarlet Knights managed just one field goal -- a Pondexter lay up off an inbounds pass to herself – over the remaining 11:10. Four of West Virginia’s remaining 12 points of the half came from the free throw line Six straight Rutgers points at the start of the second half looked to get the Scarlet Knights jumpstarted, but West Virginia answered with a 9-0 run to take a 27-22 lead. Six of the nine points game on 3s by LaQuita Owens and Davis-White. Rutgers managed just one point during a five-minute stretch to allow West Virginia to build a 35-28 lead with 9:22 left in the game. At that point Cole took over, hitting a pair of lay ups and making a free throw to give WVU a 12-point, 40-28 lead with 6:58 to go. Rutgers pulled to within seven on a Pondexter 3 at 4:15, but Cole coolly answered with a jumper to make it 44-35, West Virginia. Cole hit another lay up at 2:03 to give the Mountaineers a 46-35 advantage, and all 10 remaining points from that point game from the free throw line with Rutgers forcing to foul. “There is no way I could have won this game for us,” said Pondexter. “It’s a team game, and West Virginia played as a team. We did not play as a team.” In all, West Virginia made 21 of 34 from the line for 61.8 percent, but the Mountaineers were 10 of 14 from the line over the remaining 1:48. In addition to her 18 points, Cole also pulled down a team-high nine rebounds. West Virginia produced a 37-37 stalemate on the boards. “They did exactly what we wanted them to do but we got a little rattled at the end because we’re a young team,” Carey said. “Britney Davis-White is our best foul shooter and we kept giving her the ball at the end of the game and she hit some for us.” The 40 points were a season-low for Rutgers (25-4), aiming for its first-ever Big East tournament title and a No. 1 seed in the upcoming NCAA tournament. The Knights were undefeated in conference play this year. It is West Virginia's first trip to the Big East championship game since joining the league in 1995.