For West Virginia women’s basketball coach Mike Carey, the game plan to take down Notre Dame on the road is pretty self-explanatory. “We’re going to have to play very well for 40 minutes,” said Carey. “We’re going to have to stay out of foul trouble. We’re going to have to hit those open shots that sometimes we hit and sometimes we don’t.”
While sound execution may be easy to describe prior to Sunday’s game in South Bend, Ind., putting the plans into motion will be an entirely different task.
And with this match-up in particular, the stakes are sky high for both No. 11 WVU (18-1, 5-0 BIG EAST) and fourth-ranked Notre Dame (16-1, 3-1 BIG EAST).
“A lot is on the line with this game for both teams,” Carey said. “They need this win. I think it’s going to be a real battle.”
Ever since being dumped, 92-69, at No. 3 Ohio State back in November, Carey re-focused the Mountaineers, who responded and have reeled off 16 consecutive wins. Much of the success can be attributed to the Mountaineers defense, which is holding opponents to 34 percent shooting and an average of 49 points a game.
Notre Dame presents the biggest challenge by any team that WVU has faced since being drubbed by Ohio State. “I think we’re a different team than when we played Ohio State,” said junior guard Liz Repella. “It’s definitely going to be a challenge, but we’re ready for it.”
Freshman center Asya Bussie realizes the magnitude of this game and believes WVU is a different team from the one that showed up against the Buckeyes. “It’s our first big game since the Ohio State game,” she said. “I think that we’re a lot more prepared and ready now than we were at the beginning of the season. We’ll see where we are.”
Besides being handled, 70-46, at top-ranked Connecticut, the Fighting Irish have rolled through nearly all their opponents and are averaging 80 points a game.
“They press a lot. They run that high post series there looking for backdoors and handoffs,” said Carey. “I think the boards are going to have to play a big part in the game.”
“They’re really balanced,” Repella said. “They have inside presence and they have good guard play. They force a lot of turnovers, so we’re really going to have to take care of the ball.”
But WVU knows a thing or two about winning games and has plans to continue to do what they are finding works well. “Every time we get our transition offense going, we usually have a good game,” said Repella. “That’s our game -- pushing the ball, so hopefully we do that on Sunday.”
Nineteen games into the season, the team’s chemistry is continuing to make positive strides; in turn, results are showing up on the court and in the win-loss column. “Confidence. Chemistry. Knowing each player’s role, how we’re supposed to be playing,” Bussie says, “Getting a feel for each other has helped out a lot.”
It is vital that Repella, WVU’s leader who averages a team-high 14 points and six rebounds, rises to the occasion on the big stage at Notre Dame and does not get saddled with foul trouble. “I really need to concentrate and stay out of foul trouble and so do all of our starters because we’re not as deep as them,” she said.
Carey agreed and said, “They’re eight-nine deep.”
Notre Dame leads the all-time series against WVU, 16-2, and has never lost to the Mountaineers, at home.
Having an opportunity to upset a top-five ranked conference opponent on the road will provide all the necessary motivation, Repella said.
“I think that gives us enough energy. Everybody wants to go in there and get a win,” she said.