Buckeye State Bound

The West Virginia women's basketball team has never played a ranked opponent this early in a season in its history.

WVU head coach Mike Carey wouldn't have it any other way.

The nine-year West Virginia head coach sees tonight's Preseason WNIT Semifinal match up against No. 3 Ohio State (3-0) as a good opportunity for his young team to gain experience.

Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio.

"I'm extremely happy to play this type of game at this time in the year," he said. "Win or lose, we can come back here and work on our weaknesses. We will know where we're at."

West Virginia (2-0) will have its hands full when it goes up against the Buckeyes.

Ohio State is averaging 90 points per game and is allowing only 65 points.

After scoring 123 points in their preseason exhibition game, the Mountaineers are averaging 67 points in their two regular season games while giving up a mere 46 points.

"This is great opportunity to play the No. 3 team so early in the season," said junior guard Liz Repella. "It will definitely show where we are and what we need to work on."

After WVU's first two games against Towson and Marist, Repella leads the Mountaineers averaging 15 points and nine rebounds.

Despite Repella's scoring output, she has struggled from 3-point range, shooting just three-for-18.

In her first two collegiate games, freshman center Asya Bussie has impressed.

The Randallstown, Md., native is second on the team with 14 points per game and 8.5 rebounds.

Meanwhile, junior guard Sarah Miles has dealt with an injured shooting hand.

She leads the team with 6.5 assists per game along with 8.5 points and five rebounds.

Carey hasn't been disappointed in his teams offensive play so far, but he wants to see more.

"We still have to continue to improve. We need to get better spacing and communicate better," Carey said. "(Against Ohio State) we're going to have opportunities to run the ball up and down the court. It'll be our type of game."

The offensive output for the Buckeyes is even more impressive, as they have four players averaging double-figure scoring.

Leading the way is junior Jantel Lavender, who is averaging 25.7 points and 11 rebounds per contest.

The 6-foot-4 center is the two-time defending Big Ten Conference Player of the Year.

"She's going to be as good as any post player we play all year," Carey said. "She's very strong and can run the floor. If she gets the ball in the paint deep, she's going to score. We're looking forward to the test."

Carey said that trying to contain Lavender will be a good early test for both Bussie and sophomore Natalie Burton.

Sarah Schulze and Samantha Prahalis are averaging 13.3 points and 12.3 points, respectively.

Prahalis leads the Buckeyes with 24 assists over three games.

Tayler Hill is averaging 10.7 points per game.

Because he doesn't know if his team will be able to keep up with Ohio State's scoring pace, Carey thinks tonight's game will be decided by defense.

"Our defense has got to dictate what they're doing on offense. We have to defend and get back in transition, and pick up the ball," Carey said. "(Ohio State's) guard is a good penetrator and passer.

"This game is going to be a lot more back-and-forth than the Marist game, which is good for us."

He said if his team can't get a quick break, it will settle the ball to take some time off the clock.

"We want to be smart. We don't want to get into a straight freelance up and down," Carey said.

West Virginia go for its first win against Ohio State in program history. Dating back to 1978, the Mountaineers are 0-9 against the Buckeyes.

"We have so many athletes who can score," Repella said. "We know we can do it, we just need to be mentally focused."