Bluefield Daily Telegraph, Bluefield, WV

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  • Going dancing ... West Virginia’s Madina Ali, left, goes up against Caroline Doty of Connecticut in the Big East tournament championship last Tuesday.

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March 16, 2010

Mountaineers get No. 3 seed in NCAA women's tournament

WVU will face Lamar on Sunday night

Staff, wire report Bluefield Daily Telegraph

MORGANTOWN — After climbing through the regular season to a 28-5 record, a trip to the Big East championship game, and a top-10 ranking, the West Virginia women’s basketball team was rewarded with a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament on Monday evening.

The Mountaineers face Lamar (26-7), champions of the Southland Conference, at 9:30 p.m. Sunday in a first-round game at Austin, Texas. The game, the first ever between the two schools, will be televised by ESPN2.

Placed in the Memphis Region, West Virginia will play No. 6 Texas in the Lone Star State a week from today if both teams win in the first round. That didn’t sit well with Mountaineers coach Mike Carey.

“I figured that we would be a No. 3 seed, but I am very disappointed that once again we may have to play a team on their home court,” he told MSN SportsNet.com on Monday night. “Of course we have to win the first game first.”

The Lady Cardinals of Lamar enter as the No. 14 seed. The Beaumont, Texas, team is led by guard Jenna Plumley, formerly of the Oklahoma Sooners. Plumley averages 14.4 points and 6.7 assists per game. She is in the top 10 nationally in assists and 3-pointers (107).

West Virginia’s NCAA tournament appearance will be its third in the last four springs and its sixth overall.

Controlling the Mountaineers’ game is Sarah Miles, a solid point guard who provides six assists per game. Liz Repella is one of three WVU players who score in double figures on average. The junior guard-forward has made 67 treys on her way to a 13.8-point average.

Korinne Campbell and Madina Ali lead the rebounding stats. Campbell averages 7.5 boards and puts in 10.8 points per game. Ali adds seven rebounds per contest. Freshman center Asya Bussie adds an average of 10.3 points and 5.6 rebounds to the cause.

West Virginia lost to unbeaten Connecticut 60-32 in the Big East Conference tournament championship game a week ago, the latest of UConn’s 72 straight victims. Connecticut enters the NCAA tournament as the top overall seed, and was placed in the Dayton Region.

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