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          Mountaineers end Red Flash's four-game win streak

          Dec 18, 2010
          • Associated Press

          MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- With the Big East schedule creeping closer for West Virginia, coach Mike Carey gave his bench some extra work.

          Ten different players scored for West Virginia (No. 8 ESPN/USA Today, No. 7 AP) and only two starters played more than 20 minutes in the Mountaineers' 83-55 win over St. Francis (Pa.) on Saturday night.

          The Mountaineers (11-0) extended the best start in school history and improved their school-record home winning streak to 26 games.

          "I don't think we're playing hard enough," he said. "These are auditions for the Big East. If we don't have 10 people playing hard, then 10 people will not play. We will cut down our bench to seven or eight. The Big East is the best league in the country bar none."

          Madina Ali led the way with 18 points in 18 minutes, spending much of the game in foul trouble. Asya Bussie added a career-high 17 points and Korinne Campbell scored 11.

          Led by Ali and Bussie with seven rebounds apiece, the Mountaineers dominated inside, holding a 42-28 rebounding advantage and scoring 48 points in the lane.

          "I thought Madina Ali played with a lot of energy, but she needs to learn to play with a lot of fouls," Carey said. "She plays strong under the basket and is very active. We need that physical person down there, so hopefully we can keep her out of foul trouble."

          Liz Repella, West Virginia's second-leading scorer at 14 points per game, was held to three on 1-of-8 shooting.

          Samantha Leach scored 14 points for St. Francis (5-5), which had its four-game winning streak snapped.

          West Virginia went ahead to stay three minutes into the game, shot 56 percent (18-of-32) from the floor in the first half and led 46-28 at halftime. The lead was extended to as many as 36 points in the second half.

          "With a team like West Virginia, you just can't have mistakes because it can go from a tie game or down by four to a 10- or 14-point lead right away," St. Francis coach Susan Robinson Frucht said.

          West Virginia is 59-3 against nonconference opponents in Morgantown. The Mountaineers' No. 7 AP ranking matches last season's poll peak as the best in school history.