By Duane Cochran
FAIRMONT — Despite the fact that a severe winter storm was hammering the area and snowfall amounts of 7 to 11 inches were predicted overnight with 3 to 5 more inches expected on Saturday Fairmont State and the University of Charleston basketball teams remained at 8 p.m. Friday evening determined to play their afternoon doubleheader today at FSU’s Joe Retton Arena.
Tip off today is expected to be at 2 p.m. for the women’s contest between the two schools. The men’s game time is set for 4 p.m.
Charleston’s women were already in town Friday having played on the road at Seton Hill University in Greensburg, Pa. Thursday night.
The Lady Falcons enter today’s contest in the midst of a rare two-game losing streak. After occupying the top spot in the West Virginia Conference standings last weekend, Fairmont suffered back-to-back losses to Shepherd University and West Virginia State this week and have fallen to sixth place in the league. FSU is 12-6 overall and 9-4 in the WVC.
UC comes into today’s game 13-6 overall and 10-4 in the conference. The Lady Golden Eagles had their six-game winning streak snapped Thursday with a 69-63 setback against Seton Hill.
UC, which is fifth in the league standings, leads FSU by just .11 in the conference ratings.
“Charleston is always a big game for us,” said Fairmont’s Ashley Vavrek. “It’s a rivalry game for us and we’ve all got to be ready to play. We’re both right there together in the league standings fighting for a conference title so obviously it’s a very important game for both of us.”
The balanced Lady Golden Eagles have five players who average in double figures led by Lindsey Kentner’s 17.1 points per outing. UC also gets 12.4 points and 10.1 rebounds per contest from Tarenna Dixon.
The Lady Falcons have not lost three games in a row since the 2007-08 season.
Like the women’s game, the men’s contest will also feature two of the top teams in the league. Fairmont’s men are currently fourth in the 16-team WVC standings with a 15-3 overall record and a 10-3 league mark.
Charleston’s men, on the other hand, are fifth in the conference with an 11-7 overall mark and a 10-4 league record.
The Golden Eagles have won three in a row and five of their last six.
FSU, meanwhile, is coming off an impressive 100-85 victory over then-league leading West Virginia State Thursday at the Joe Retton Arena.
“Our game plan Saturday is no different than it was Thursday,” said FSU sophomore guard Steve Custis. “We’ve got to come out determined from the start and play 40 minutes of complete basketball on both ends of the floor. We expect another great game.”
Charleston is led by junior guards Bahaader Russell and Jonathan Liggins, who average 21.1 and 15.7 points per game respectively.
Fairmont State leads the all-time series between the two schools 58-45. The Falcons have won their last three meetings with UC.
