Mountain Momma Monday: February 4
By Ken Durbin
It was a big week in women’s athletics for West Virginia. From the basketball team’s incredible week of upsets to the gymnastics team posting a pair of wins in front of one of the largest crowds in program history, there was plenty for Mountaineers fans to be proud of. Here is the recap of the past week of WVU action.
Jan 19, 2013; Waco, TX, USA; Baylor Bears guard Jordan Madden (3) looks drive the ball around West Virginia Mountaineers guard Christal Caldwell (1) during the first half at the Ferrell Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Cowsert-USA TODAY Sports
Basketball:
Mike Carey’s girls got a huge win on the road this past Tuesday, taking down the #19 Oklahoma State Cowgirls. The Mountaineers took down OSU behind tremendous performances from Averee Fields and Christal Caldwell. Fields and Caldwell combined for 40 points to lead WVU past their ranked foe. Caldwell drilled 5 three point shots to give the Mountaineers the scoring edge they needed in a tight 67-61 victory.
The Mountaineers continued their streak of beating ranked teams, taking down the #20 Oklahoma Sooners this past Saturday. It looked gloomy for the Mountaineers in the first half, when they fell behind by a 22-11 margin. From that point on, West Virginia went on a 23-5 run to close the first half.
The Mountaineers weathered an early second half strom by the Sooners who cut WVU’s lead to 7 points midway through the second half. From there on, West Virginia, led by Christal Caldwell, pulled away and dominated OU. Caldwell’s 24 points led WVU in scoring as WVU took down OU by a 82-63 margin.
After a week of close, disappointing losses, the Mountaineers rebounded for a pair of marquee wins. Now the Mountaineers will take their new found winning streak on the road with a pair of Big XII road games. WVU will play at Texas Tech on February 6 and at Kansas on February 9.
Gymnastics:
The WVU tumblers tied up their record this past weekend at 4-4 with a pair of wins in the quad meet with Western Michigan, William & Mary, and Oklahoma. The pair of wins came in front of one of the top 10 crowds in program history at the Coliseum, with 1,881 fans in attendance.
West Virginia racked up a score of 196.05 points, good enough to finish second. The Mountaineers collected wins over William & Mary (192.225) and Western Michigan (192.475) while losing to Oklahoma (197.375).
It was a big night for the Mountaineers, getting West Virginia back to their winning ways. Now the Mountaineers get a chance to establish a winning record with a home meet against Iowa State this coming Sunday at 3 PM.
Tennis:
This past weekend was a really trying weekend for the Mountaineers tennis team. WVU went on the road for a pair of meets against Syracuse and Buffalo, dropping both meets by a 6-1 score.
Against Syracuse, the Mountaineers got drummed pretty thoroughly, only allowing the Mountaineers one win in the 4th singles match. Emily Mathis was the lone Mountaineer to register a victory in the match.
The next day, the Mountaineers had similar issues against the Buffalo Bulls. WVU dropped the match against Buffalo with only registering a lone 5th singles victory behind the efforts of Vivian Tsui.
West Virginia now has two weeks to prepare for their next matches at William & Mary and VCU on February 16 and 17.
Track:
The Mountaineers got some strong performances at the Akron Invitational this past weekend. Senior Sydney Cummings set the Mountaineers record in the leap with a 1.78 meter jump, good enough for second place. Senior Heather Adams neared here personal best mark in the weight throw with a mark of 17.83 meters. Adams finished 8th in the weight throw.
West Virignia will look to improve upon their performances with a road meet at SPIRE in Geneva, OH this coming weekend, February 8-9.