12/3/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 3, 2004
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5:00 p.m. - Saturday, December 4, 2004
Morgantown, W.V. - WVU Coliseum (14,000)
Live Stats: MSNSportsNet.com
Duquesne's women's basketball team heads to Morgantown, West Virginia for a Saturday afternoon game (5 p.m.) in the WVU Coliseum. The women's game is the first game of a double-header with the WVU men taking on Radford at 7 p.m.
Duquesne is coming off a 62-58 loss at Siena on Tuesday. WVU is undefeated at 5-0 with four of the wins coming at home.
Duquesne (1-2) Probable Starters| No. | NAME | YR | POS | HT | PPG | RPG |
| 5 | Aiga Bautre | Jr | G | 5-11 | 13.8 | 4.3 |
| 10 | Erin Crawford | JR | G | 5-9 | 3.3 | 2.3 apg |
| 45 | Maria Stankevich | JR | C | 6-3 | 9.0 | 8.8 |
| 34 | Nicole Sinclair | JR | F | 6-0 | 10.5 | 7.3 |
| 22 | Loui Hall | SO | F | 6-0 | 11.5 | 5.8 |
West Virginia (5-0) Probable Starters
| No. | NAME | YR | POS | HT | PPG | RPG |
| 4 | Meg Bulger | SO | G | 6-0 | 18.0 | 5.6 |
| 22 | Chakhia Cole | FR | G | 5-10 | 4.2 | 5.2 |
| 14 | Sherell Sowho | SR | G | 5-8 | 15.0 | 2.4 |
| 12 | Yolanda Paige | SR | G | 5-6 | 11.4 | 11.6 |
| 33 | Yelena Leuchanka | JR | C | 6-5 | 7.4 | 6.8 |
The Coaches
Dan Durkin is in his 12th season at the helm of the Duquesne women's basketball program and as a head coach. He posts a 147-165 career mark. Durkin is a 1975 graduate of Mount St. Mary's. Mike Carey is in his fourth season at the WVU helm and the 17th as a head coach. Carey is 55-38 with the Mountaineers and owns an overall mark of 342-140. He is a 1980 graduate of Salem.
The Series
This is the 36th meeting between Duquesne and West Virginia. The Mountaineers hold a 28-7 lead in the all-time series which dates back to the 1976-77 season. Last year, the Dukes suffered a 68-86 fall at the Palumbo Center. WVU has won the last five meetings. Duquesne was last victorious in December of 1995 when DU snagged an 89-69 decision. The Dukes are 1-15 when playing at WVU.
Dukes Lately
- Duquesne stands 1-3 overall after suffering a 58-62 loss at Siena
- The Dukes are facing their fourth road opponent over the last five games
- Three players are averaging double-figures in scoring in Aiga Bautre (13.8); Loui Hall (11.5) and Nicole Sinclair (10.5)
- DU has used the same staring line-up in each game - Bautre, Hall, Sinclair, Maria Stankevich and Erin Crawford
- The starters account for 48.0 points and 27.8 rebounds per game
- DU's young bench provides 10 points and 8.8 rebounds per game.
WVU Lately
The Mountaineers are off to a 5-0 start this season, which includes a 3-0 mark at home ... They are receiving Top 25 votes in both polls ... Local stand-out Meg Bulger leads the squad with 18.0 ppg followed by Sherell Sowho (15.0) and Yolanda Paige (11.4) ... WVU has used the same starting five in each game this season - Bulger, Sowho, Paige, Yelena Leuchanka and Chakhia Cole ... The Mountaineers are out-scoring their opponents an average of 71.2-to-47.0 ppg and they hold a 41-to-32.6 rebounding average.
Comparatively Speaking
Here is how Duquesne and West Virginia compare statistically.
2005 GP FGM FGA PCT RPG APG TO BPG SPG PPGDUQ 4 81 215 .377 36.5 12.0 20.3 3.8 9.3 58.0WVU 5 145 290 .500 41.0 18.0 16.4 4.2 9.8 71.2ABOUT THE DUKES
Duquesne returns three starters from last season's 16-13 squad in juniors Nicole Sinclair, Maria Stankevich and Aiga Bautre. The Red & Blue suffered the loss of its veteran back court with the graduation of Candace Futrell (21.4 ppg, 7.0 rpg) a third-round WNBA draft choice, and Shiri Sharon (8.8 ppg, 5.5 apg), who reigns as the Dukes all-time assist leader. The duo accounted for 44 percent of the team's scoring (29.8 ppg); 50 percent of the assists (7.6 apg) and 47 percent of the team's steals (3.82 spg). Duquesne welcomes five newcomers to the 2004-05 slate and gained the talents of two local Division I transfers who will be eligible to compete in the 2005-06 season.
ABOUT THE MOUNTAINEERS
West Virginia enters the contest with a perfect 5-0 showing, which includes a 3-0 record at home. Three Mountaineers averaged double-figure scoring in Meg Bulger (18.0); Sherell Sowho (15.0) and Yolanda Paige (11.4). Paige leads the squad and the Big East with 11.6 assists per game. She had a WVU record 18 assists vs. Northwestern and added 17 vs. Longwood his past Wednesday. West Virginia is currently receiving votes in both the AP and the USAToday/ESPN/WBCA polls. They return two starters from last year's 21-11 squad. They went 10-6 in Big East play to finish sixth overall.
WHEN THEY LAST MET
The Dukes suffered an 86-68 non-conference loss to visiting West Virginia Dec. 20, 2004 at the A.J. Palumbo Center. Candace Futrell led the Red & Blue with 28 points followed by Aiga Bautre with 16 markers. Maria Stankevich notched her second double-double of the season with a game-best 11 rebounds and 14 points. Yolanda Paige led West Virginia with a career-best 32 points. The Mountaineers set a new opponent Palumbo Center record with 11 three-point goals. The Bulger sisters Kate and Meg each added 14 points for WVU.
West Virginia out-shot the Dukes .458 to .319 for the game, but rebounds were equal with each team grabbing 43 boards. WVU shot .500 (11-22) from the three and the Dukes connected on .813 (13-16) from the free throw line.
THE DUKES' LAST GAME
Duquesne suffered a 62-58 non-conference loss at Siena to fall to 1-3 on the season this past Tuesday. Sophomore Loui Hall led DU with 12 points while Maria Stankevich and Aiga Bautre had seven rebounds each. Nicole Sinclair snagged a game-best and career-high six steals. Laura Menty led the game and Siena with 16 points and nine rebounds, including an 8-10 effort from the charity stripe.
The Dukes outshot the Saints .404 (21-52) to .327 (16-49) but were out-rebounded 32-35. Siena attempted 33 foul shots on 23 Duquesne fouls and hit 25 of their attempts for a .758 average. Duquesne hit .800 from the charity stripe hitting 12-15.
Next Up
Duquesne will host crosstown rival Pitt this coming Tuesday in a 7:05 pm tip-off. It marks the second opponents in the local rivalry which starts today at West Virginia. A visit to Robert Morris Dec. 17 after a break for finals wraps up the three-game series with area teams.
