Published: November 16, 2008 10:42 pm      

Iona Gaels beat WVU women

MORGANTOWN — The West Virginia women’s basketball team went more than nine minutes without a field goal in the second half, squandering an early 11-point lead and falling 52-44 to the Gaels of Iona on Sunday afternoon.

The Mountaineers (1-1) began with a 15-4 lead in the first eight minutes, but trailed 26-23 at intermission after Iona (2-0) ended the first half with a 22-to-8 run. West Virginia shot 9-of-30 from the field in the first half, and the Gaels hit 11 of 23 field-goal tries.

The shooting got worse for WVU in the second half, with the home squad making seven of 26 field-goal attempts — 26.9 percent. In the game, West Virginia was 11-for-22 at the foul line and 1-for-15 in three-point shooting.

Iona made 40.9 percent of its field-goal tries and was 12-for-21 at the foul line.

West Virginia held a 47-33 rebound advantage but turned the ball over 26 times, compared to 22 for Iona.

Kristina Ford came off the Gaels’ bench to lead all scorers with 20 points.

Guard Takisha Granberry led West Virginia in scoring with 12 points and rebounds with nine. The Mountaineers’ bench contributed two points in the game.

Mike Carey suffered only the second non-conference loss at home since becoming Mountaineer coach. The other came in overtime to Texas A&M – Corpus Christi.

West Virginia hosts Northeastern at 7 p.m. Tuesday.