Box Score
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The University of Charleston women’s basketball team clinched the West Virginia Conference regular season championship with a dominant 84-59 performance against rival WV State, Saturday afternoon.
Charleston (22-6, 18-4) put the first points on the board with a Chrissy Keir (Savreville, NJ/Cardinal McCarrick) layup just 40 seconds into the game and never looked back as the Golden Eagles held an eight rebound advantage in the first half. The rebounding advantage led UC to a 17-8 scoring advantage on second-chance points in the half as the home team held a consistent nine-point advantage for much of the period, which held true with the 38-29 score headed into intermission.
After halftime, Charleston continued to push the ball inside to its powerful duo of Tarenna Dixon (Morgantown, W.Va./University) and Erika Rousculp (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) to wear down the WV State (11-17, 9-13) defense. The Golden Eagles never let WVSU back into the contest after break as they shot 49 percent in the second half, while outscoring the Yellow Jackets 22-10 in the paint to break the game open and slowly increase the double-digit cushion. Junior Lisanne Comeau (Toronto, Ontario/St. Basil Catholic) capped a wonderful performance for the University of Charleston by nailing a three-pointer just before the clock ran out on WV State to set the final score at 84-59.
On Senior Day the three seniors in the starting lineup soared led by Lindsey Kentner (Wapakoneta, Ohio/Wapakoneta) who netted 20 points, while dishing out five assists. Classmates Dixon and Tiana Beatty (Charleston, W.Va./Capital) followed close behind with great performances. Dixon was dominant in the paint for much of the contest to register 18 points and eight rebounds, while Beatty put 14 points and eight rebounds in the scorebook.
Freshman Lauren Davis (Cincinnati, Ohio/Western Brown) gave a glimpse of the future for Charleston with a season-best performance of nine points, two rebounds and two assists.
The win clinches the University of Charleston a first round bye in the West Virginia Conference tournament and expedites them to playing against the winner of No.8 Shepherd vs. No. 9 Fairmont State on Wednesday, March 2 at 6:30 pm in the Charleston Civic Center. Shepherd and Fairmont State will faceoff at 7:30pm on Monday, February 28.
Full WVIAC Playoff Bracket
