Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
West Virginia
BOGACZYK: WVU Women Too Tall an Order for Herd
12/14/2013 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 14, 2013
Postgame Daniel Press Conference
By JACK BOGACZYK
HERDZONE.COM COLUMNIST
CHARLESTON, W.Va. - It wasn't too difficult to size up the opener of the Capital Classic basketball doubleheader on Saturday afternoon.
West Virginia Coach Mike Carey's rotation averaged 6 feet per player. For Marshall, coach Matt Daniel's youthful club came up about six inches shorter per player than that.
"It was a learning experience for us," Herd redshirt senior wing Erica Woods said. "A game like this will help us a lot as we go on into the season."
The Mountaineers got a ninth straight victory in the series, rolling past the Herd, 82-51, before a Charleston Civic Center gathering of 1,565.
"The difference in the game was huge," Daniel said. "They killed us on the glass. Look at the second-chance points."
That statistic was 15-4 for WVU, which won its eighth straight game after an opening loss to Ohio State. Carey's veteran club outrebounded Marshall 53-27, was 10-of-20 from behind the 3-point arc and had a 44-22 halftime lead.
"They were big, 1 through 5," Woods said. "Their point guard was as tall as me, 5-9, and they got bigger from there. That's an NCAA Tournament team; they have been for the past few years. This one is, too."
The Herd (3-5) played without junior post player Chukwuka Ezeigbo, who has returned to Nigeria for a 17-day span to attend the funeral of her father, who died of cancer last month. Marshall could have used another inside player against the Mountaineers, who really impressed Daniel.
"I think West Virginia has the potential to be a (NCAA) Sweet Sixteen team, and I told Mike that before the game," the second-year Herd coach said. "They're athletic and big, but a huge part is their experience."
The Herd rebounded from WVU's early 8-0 lead to tie it on Woods' layup with 13:46 left in the first half, but it went downhill from there for Daniel's team.
Norrisha Victrum's driving bucket at 12:13 cut the Mountaineer edge to 12-10, but Marshall scored only a Victrum 3-pointer in its next 18 possessions. Before Woods' three-point play ended the Herd drought with 2:18 until the break, West Virginia had a 38-13 advantage.
The Mountaineers' lead was fueled by their rebounding - a 29-14 advantage, and six 3-point baskets over the Herd's matchup zone.
"We're continuing to grow," said Daniel, whose team goes back to the Henderson Center for its next four, a stretch starting with a Thursday noon tipoff against Wofford. "The second half, they only beat us nine (38-29) ... You've got to knuckle up, no matter who else is on the floor."
It was Marshall's most lopsided loss since a 78-21 rout by WVU on the same floor in the 2010-11 Capital Classic.
"Once you get to a certain point (down on the scoreboard), we just work on doing what we do, trying to grow as a team," said Woods, who finished with 11 points and five rebounds. Victum's 13 - all in the first half - topped the Herd.
West Virginia's 6-4 center, Asya Bussie, was voted the game's MVP. She led all scorers with 16 points as the Mountaineers took a 37-16 lead in the series that dates to 1973-74.
"I won't be surprised if (WVU) wins the Big 12," Daniel said. "We got beat 16 last year, and they're a lot better than they were last year."
