 "Photo: N/A")
West Virginia head coach Mike Carey spoke throughout the week that his team needed to be on high alert when last year’s national runner-up Louisville came to town Saturday.
West Virginia (11-10, 3-5 Big East Conference) was able to fend off the Cardinals’ upset bid as the Mountaineers won their 20th game this season, 72-66, in front of 3,788 fans – the seventh-largest crowd in program history.
It’s the earliest in the season the program has reached 20 wins.
"I’m very happy with the girls because we found a way to win, and that’s something we’ve been able to do all year, especially in close games," Carey said. "Give Louisville a lot of credit. They played hard. They were going to come in here and play aggressive."
The game started off like a football game as physical play dominated the first half.
The Mountaineers were whistled for five fouls in the opening four minutes.
Despite the fouls, WVU jumped out to an early 15-5 lead, but it wouldn’t last long as Louisville was able to make a run of its own.
The Cardinals used an Asia Taylor 3-pointer to cap a 15-4 run to take the lead from the Mountaineers, 20-19.
After a West Virginia time out, junior Vanessa House hit back-to-back 3-pointers to put the Mountaineers back up 27-26.
"I just got some good bounces," House said. "I shot a couple of air balls, so it’s nice to get a good bounce."
Every time Louisville would make a run and attempt to pull away, House had an answer.
"She stepped up and hit some big time shots," said Louisville coach Jeff Walz. "We knew she was a shooter. She played really well for them."
Although West Virginia had taken the lead, the intensity was short-lived as guard Sarah Miles was called for her third foul with just over a minute remaining in the first half.
"It was definitely tough playing with three fouls because you want to defend and be aggressive on defense, but there’s only so much you can do," Miles said. "You just have to be smart."
With momentum leaning in their direction, the Cardinals were able to take a 37-33 lead into the locker room.
The trio of Liz Repella, House and Miles combined for 25 second-half points, while the team shot 50 percent (11-for-22) in the half.
Repella finished with 15 points but gave all the credit to House who she said helped out the team coming off the bench as it struggled with foul trouble.
"She was definitely hitting her shots, and she was on fire," Repella said. "She hit some shots tonight and played really well for us."
The Mountaineers put the game away over the last five minutes as House made the final of her four 3-pointers, and the team made five consecutive free throws.
Both House and Miles finished with 17 points apiece, while Repella netted 15 points. The 17 points for House was a career-high.
Louisville forward Monique Reid led all scorers with 29 points.
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