I was one of the dozens of people in the state that watched this game on public television, complete with the pledge drive every timeout…get your Mountaineer or Thundering Herd hat, t-shirt, or sweatshirt now!…and including the hundred or so excited onlookers in the crowd. Seriously, I hate the Capital Classic idea to begin with. I don’t like how it falls in the heart of conference schedule and is played in Charleston only so some legislators can hobnob. Most of the people at the game could not care less about the actual game, and the women’s game tips at 5:30 which is convenient for…nobody. Wait, this is supposed to be three points, not a free-wheeling rant.
I. Ashley Powell: She did a lot of good things tonight but there were times when you wanted to choke her as a fan. It took over half the game for her to realize that Marshall’s defense was absolutely ignoring her. Even at that it looked like she was in great pain to score. Powell has never been a real scoring threat on offense, and everyone likes a point guard who can distribute and play defense, but Marshall was daring her all night and she couldn’t muster a shot or penetration for the longest time in the game. I applaud her for the scoring she did, it was probably the difference in the game, but I wish it would have come earlier.
II. Olayinka Sanni: Sanni was dominant (at time) and was able to score around her average, but at times the Marshall freshman TyNikki Crook was covering her way more than a freshman should be able to. Of course the double teams were frustrating but Sanni has seen them before, and teams basically have to let Sanni get her points and hope everyone else doesn’t beat them. You know what else though? Coming into the game all the fishwrappers were talking about Marshall’s lack of a true center…I don’t know what they call Crook, but beyond that Handy and Hammond were big enough to defend on Sanni (with help) and while they weren’t big bodies like Sanni, I think I was sold a bill of goods as to Marshall not being able to defend Sanni. They did a better job than some Big East teams have.
III. LaQuita Owens:Owens just hasn’t had a great scoring season like she did last year, a lot of that contributed to Meg Bulger coming back, but Owens went off for a quick flash of 11 points that looked like that old Owens for the first time in a long time. This is the stretch where WVU took the lead for good, so give Owens a lot of credit for that. However, after her hot streak she took a couple ill-advised threes off the dribble. WVU is just not a good team off the dribble, I think that could hurt them against a good defending team.
One more thing, I hope Meg Bulger is all right. She looked to be in a lot of pain with her knee but was able to walk around on the court after the game, so that’s a great sign. Nobody deserves as many health problems as Meg has had with that knee.
