Women's Basketball Takes Momentum Into Tournament, Plays at 2:15 Thursday

West Virginia State University Athletics

   The WVSU women's basketball team opens play in the Mountain East Conference tournament Thursday at 2:15 against Wheeling Jesuit.

   Seeded third, the Yellow Jackets matched the program's best regular season finish ever posted back in 2003-2004.

   So do not let that 13-15 overall record influence you. WVSU Head Coach Charles Marshall put his young squad through the fires of tough non-conference competition, mostly on the road, in the early going to prepare it for this week.

     "Playing a schedule like we played helps you prepare for the end of the season," Marshall said.

    The Yellow Jackets come in with a 13-9 mark in MEC play and have won their last three games and four of their last five.

    They are also coming off an emotional, come-from-behind, overtime win at rival University of Charleston just this past Saturday that clinched third place.

     They look to be peaking at the right time.

     "It can only give our kids confidence," Marshall said. "You want to be playing your very best and I think we are right now."

     WVSU and #6 Wheeling Jesuit split their two regular season meetings with each winning at home. The Jackets own the most recent victory, an 83-73 decision, on February 10.

     A total of five WVSU players scored in double figures in that game and the Jackets hit 57.6 percent of their shots as they were able to collect 38 points in the paint.

     The Cardinals enter the tournament having lost four of their last five contests to finish 12-16 overall and 10-12 in conference play.

      Their loss at West Liberty last Saturday forced the Yellow Jackets to get a win to hold off the Hilltoppers for third place.

      Leading the Yellow Jackets are seniors Aurreeshae Hines and Jasmine Davis.

      Hines, a 5-foot-6 guard, has been a first team All-MEC pick the last two seasons and leads WVSU in scoring (16.), steals (2.2), and shooting percentage (.430). She is third in the MEC in steals.

      The Jeffersonville, Indiana, native became the third leading all-time scorer for WVSU and has nearly 1,500 points in her career.

      Davis is a 5-11 forward out of Syracuse, New York, who averages 13.8 points and is tied for the team lead in rebounding (5.1). Her .362 shooting percentage from beyond the 3-point arc is fifth best in the conference and she is second in 3-pointers made averaging 3.14 a contest. Davis also ranks fifth in blocked shots (1.11) in the MEC.

      Junior guard Alexandra Jackson leads the squad in assists averaging 4.9 a game, third best in the conference.

     Freshman guard Amari Grace and junior guard Jordan Miller average 8.5 and 8.3 points respectively. Lyrin Hatcher, a 5-10 freshman, averages 5.1 rebounds and 4.9 points while 5-9 junior Kim Richburg averages 5.6 points and 3.8 rebounds.

     Last season's MEC Freshman of the Year, Sydney Bates, has battled injuries from early in the season and is seeing just 16 minutes of action on the average and is getting 4.3 points and 1.8 rebounds.

      The Yellow Jackets make an average of 9.32 shots from 3-point range, second in the MEC.

     "The huge thing about having those two seniors along with Sydney Bates and Jordan Miller," Marshall said.,"is that we have four players who have played at the Civic Center in this tournament before."

      The winner faces the survivor from among #2 Notre Dame, #7 Urbana, and #10 Charleston at 2:15 p.m. Saturday.

Print Friendly Version