PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Liz Repella poured in 20 first-half points and her Mountaineer teammates did the rest as the eighth-ranked West Virginia University women’s basketball team defeated Providence, 75-59, on Saturday afternoon at the Dunkin Donuts Center.
Repella netted a season-high 25 points on 9 of 13 shooting. She made all four of her 3-point attempts to help achieve her 15th career 20-point game.
Repella also tallied her 14th career double-double after pulling down 10 rebounds. Joining her was freshman center Asya Bussie, who had her first career double-double in conference play with 12 points and 11 rebounds, as well as three blocked shots.
Korinne Campbell was WVU’s third double-figure scorer with 10 points.
The Mountaineers (21-3, 8-2) got the job done once again on the glass, outrebounding the Friars (13-10, 4-6) 42-30 overall. WVU is now 18-0 this season when it outrebounds an opponent, which helped lead to 23 second-chance points compared to 11 by Providence.
The Friars became the 19th Mountaineer opponent to be held to under 60 points this season, shooting 40 percent (24 of 60) for the contest. Senior guard Chelsea Marandola scored 16 points.
After missing its first six shots from the floor, WVU nailed 16 of its next 22 shot attempts to take a 48-32 lead at halftime. WVU’s 48 first-half points were its second-most in a half this season.
Repella displayed her marksmanship with 20 points on 7 of 9 shooting, including 3 of 3 from 3-point range. Her 3-pointer with 4:18 remaining before halftime eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for her career, and gave West Virginia a 39-28 lead. She becomes the 27th player in school history to reach the milestone.
In all, WVU shot 57.1 percent from the floor.
WVU has now won five straight over Providence dating back to the 2006-07 season. With six regular-season games left as well as remaining postseason contests, the Mountaineers need six more victories to break the school’s single-season wins mark, set by the 1991-92 team that went 26-4.
West Virginia goes on a week-long hiatus before returning with a home matchup against No. 16 Georgetown on Sunday, Feb. 14. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m., with the game being part of the “Pink Zone” initiative designed to raise breast cancer awareness.
