Published: February 27, 2008 12:12 am            

Lady Falcons face State tonight in quarterfinals

FAIRMONT — The Cleveland Browns of the late 1970s and early 1980s were given the moniker “The Cardiac Kids” for their uncanny ability to come from behind and win close ball games.

Fairmont State University’s women’s basketball team could easily qualify for that nickname this season.

No less than 16 of FSU’s 22 victories this season have come by 10 points or less and 12 of those wins have been by seven or fewer points.

Monday night in the opening round of the annual West Virginia Conference Tournament at the Joe Retton Arena FSU, the No. 3 seed, squeaked out a 60-54 win over No. 14 Davis & Elkins to improve to 22-6 on the year. The 22 victories are the third-highest win total in school history for Fairmont’s women’s program.

Tonight at 8:30 p.m. in the quarterfinals at the Charleston Civic Center don’t expect anything but another close ball game for the Lady Falcons, who despite being nationally-ranked for much of the season and finishing third in their 16-team league, have never been considered strong favorites over any team this season.

FSU’s opponent this evening is No. 11 West Virginia State, a team which is just 8-20 overall, but shocked fifth-seeded Charleston Monday night, 66-50.

“State is extremely athletic and they have one of the best players in the league in Brittany Mingo as was evidenced by her being named first-team all-conference,” said FSU coach Steve McDonald. “In addition to her they have several other talented players.

“They’re coming off a big win, they’re going to be fired up and they’re basically playing at home because they’re from right down the road in Institute.”

Mingo, a 5-9 junior guard from Akron, Ohio, scored 26 points and grabbed eight rebounds in State’s victory over Charleston Monday on the Golden Eagles’ home floor. She averages 19.6 points and 6.9 rebounds per game for the Lady Yellow Jackets.

FSU and State met just once during the regular season back on Jan. 26 in Fairmont. The Lady Falcons won that contest, 75-57, as five FSU players led by Danielle Cornish’s 16 points finished in double figures in the scoring column. Fairmont also held a 55-32 advantage in rebounds over the Lady Yellow Jackets.

“I’m sure they’re a different team now than they were then and in a lot of ways we’re a different team,” said McDonald.

FSU enters the contest having won seven of its last nine games. State, on the other hand, has won just two of its final nine contests. However, the Lady Yellow Jackets are playing like a team possessed. Veteran head coach Gill Heasley announced last week that he is resigning after the season due to back problems. Both he and assistant coach Eddie Ivy, who has run the team a lot this season in Heasley’s absence, feel like the league tournament is a second chance for their squad and they want to make the most of it. Monday night they did just that against the University of Charleston, their heavily-favored arch-rivals. In fact after the game UC head coach Sherry Winn admitted her team got outplayed in every facet.

Tonight expect more of the same from the Lady Yellow Jackets, who can cause a wealth of problems for FSU with their athleticism. History is also on State’s side tonight. Fairmont State has not won a quarterfinal round game in the league tournament since 1997. In the last 10 years Fairmont has played in the quarterfinals nine times and is 0-9 in those games.

“It’s a challenge for us,” said FSU junior center Gabby Gattuso, who just transferred into the Lady Falcons’ program this season. “When you’re a basketball player your goal is to play as much as you can for as long as you can.

“I don’t know anything about Charleston or the tournament down there, but I know I’m looking forward to it and this opportunity for our basketball team.”

        

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