LAS VEGAS — The West Virginia women’s basketball team travels to Las Vegas for the South Point Thanksgiving Shootout.
The Mountaineers’ first game pits them against Fresno State at 4 p.m. today. WVU concludes tournament action at 6:45 p.m. Saturday against LSU. Fans can stream all of Friday and Saturday’s games for $10 each. Live stats and game notes for each game will be available on
wvusports.com.
Fresno State enters this weekend’s tournament after accumulating 25-7 record, including a 16-2 mark in the Mountain West, last season. The Bulldogs are led by seventh-year head coach Jaime White, who owns a 124-72 record during her time in Fresno. FSU returns all four of its top scorers from a season ago, including guard Haley Cavinder, who led the team with 16.0 points per game. Forward Maddi Utti also returns after leading the Bulldogs in rebounding (8.9 rpg) and steals (2.3 spg) last year.
LSU begins tournament action against BYU today, before matching up with WVU on Saturday. The Tigers posted a record of 20-10 a season ago and went 9-7 in the SEC. LSU is led by 10th-year head coach Nikki Fargas, who has accumulated a record of 168-116 during her career with the Tigers. LSU returns two of its top three scorers from a season ago, including guard Khayla Pointer, who led the team with 14.8 points per game in 2019-20. Center Faustine Aifuwa returns as the LSU’s rebounder for this season after averaging 7.9 boards per game a year ago.
WVU coach Mike Carey enters his 20th season at the helm for the Mountaineers and is the winningest coach in program history. Carey returns seven veterans from last year’s team, while adding six newcomers into the mix. Redshirt senior guard Kysre Gondrezick, the Mountaineers’ leading scorer from a season ago, returns to lead West Virginia’s offense alongside fellow senior Blessing Ejiofor. For the second consecutive year, junior forward Kari Niblack and junior guard Madisen Smith will serve as West Virginia’s team captains.
