Carey wants more improvement against Lancers

On the Phone - Longwood head coach Kristin Caruso

Coming into the season, the West Virginia women's basketball team had goals it wanted to accomplish.

One was to sharpen its skills during the nonconference portion of its schedule in preparation for the Big East Conference schedule.

Nine games into the season, West Virginia (8-1) has won six-consecutive games but has yet to put together an effort to impress head coach Mike Carey.

One area Carey and his team are looking to improve upon is the turnovers.

The Mountaineers have turned the ball over 160 times in nine games, an average of 17.8 turnovers per game.

"A lot of our turnovers as a team come from traveling," Miles said. "We had a lot of traveling calls against Eastern Kentucky, so we need to concentrate on putting the ball down first."

WVU will try to improve it's weaknesses tomorrow at the WVU Coliseum when it takes on Longwood at 2 p.m.

"We still have a lot of work to do before the Big East schedule starts," Carey said. "My concern is to keep getting better so we are ready for the conference schedule."

The Mountaineers come into the game against Longwood holding opponents to just 49.2 points per game. In its eight wins, West Virginia's margin of victory is 25.4 points.

WVU is led offensively by guard Liz Repella and center Asya Bussie who are averaging 14.1 points per game and 13.3 points per game, respectively.

Point guard Sarah Miles has also been quietly working her way up the NCAA assist ladder as she sits in the top 12 in the country in total assists and assists per game. The junior leads the Big East Conference.

Miles, who played shooting guard for the Mountaineers last year, has made the transition to point guard relatively smoothly.

"She knew coming into the year that she may be at the point, so she had an idea coming in this summer that she may be there," Carey said.

The San Antonio native does admit there have been challenges for her, though.

"I have to pass first as a point guard and then think about scoring," Miles said. "I am trying to adjust to it."

When WVU does take the court Saturday, it will do so against a Lady Lancers squad, led by third-year head coach Kristin Caruso.

Last time out, Longwood was defeated by Tulane in the Big Easy Classic, 73-58.

It has been a struggle all year long for the Lady Lancers (2-7) defensively as they have allowed opponents to score an average of 68.7 points per game.

Offensively, though, Longwood has an up-and-coming freshman Chelsea Coward who is averaging 10.3 points per game.

The Lady Lancers have a balanced attack, as seven players average more than 5.6 points per game.
 

Coming into the season, the West Virginia women's basketball team had goals it wanted to accomplish.

One was to sharpen its skills during the nonconference portion of its schedule in preparation for the Big East Conference schedule.

Nine games into the season, West Virginia (8-1) has won six-consecutive games but has yet to put together an effort to impress head coach Mike Carey.

One area Carey and his team are looking to improve upon is the turnovers.

The Mountaineers have turned the ball over 160 times in nine games, an average of 17.8 turnovers per game.

"A lot of our turnovers as a team come from traveling," Miles said. "We had a lot of traveling calls against Eastern Kentucky, so we need to concentrate on putting the ball down first."

WVU will try to improve it's weaknesses tomorrow at the WVU Coliseum when it takes on Longwood at 2 p.m.

"We still have a lot of work to do before the Big East schedule starts," Carey said. "My concern is to keep getting better so we are ready for the conference schedule."

The Mountaineers come into the game against Longwood holding opponents to just 49.2 points per game. In its eight wins, West Virginia's margin of victory is 25.4 points.

WVU is led offensively by guard Liz Repella and center Asya Bussie who are averaging 14.1 points per game and 13.3 points per game, respectively.

Point guard Sarah Miles has also been quietly working her way up the NCAA assist ladder as she sits in the top 12 in the country in total assists and assists per game. The junior leads the Big East Conference.

Miles, who played shooting guard for the Mountaineers last year, has made the transition to point guard relatively smoothly.

"She knew coming into the year that she may be at the point, so she had an idea coming in this summer that she may be there," Carey said.

The San Antonio native does admit there have been challenges for her, though.

"I have to pass first as a point guard and then think about scoring," Miles said. "I am trying to adjust to it."

When WVU does take the court Saturday, it will do so against a Lady Lancers squad, led by third-year head coach Kristin Caruso.

Last time out, Longwood was defeated by Tulane in the Big Easy Classic, 73-58.

It has been a struggle all year long for the Lady Lancers (2-7) defensively as they have allowed opponents to score an average of 68.7 points per game.

Offensively, though, Longwood has an up-and-coming freshman Chelsea Coward who is averaging 10.3 points per game.

The Lady Lancers have a balanced attack, as seven players average more than 5.6 points per game.