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West Virginia downs Danes in tourney

Mar 23, 2014 - 11:23 PM Baton Rouge, LA (SportsNetwork.com) - Christal Caldwell scored a game-high 26 points as the West Virginia Mountaineers defeated the Albany Great Danes, 76-61, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament's Louisville Regional at the Maravich Center.

Despite shooting only 1-of-12 behind the 3-point line, Bria Holmes added 20 points, followed by Averee Fields with 10 and seven rebounds for second-seeded WVU (30-4). Asya Bussie converted only 1-of-5 from the floor and finished with three points, but she still had a huge influence on the meeting with 12 rebounds and three blocked shots.

The 15th-seeded Great Danes (28-5) were led by Megan Craig with 23 points, followed by Sarah Royals with 14 points, but the latter also turned the ball over seven times before fouling out.

Albany connected on an impressive 55.0 percent from the field in the first half, but the squad failed to even attempt a single shot beyond the arc and was a dismal 3-of-11 at the free-throw line, leading to a 42-25 deficit at the break.

In the second half the Danes finally broke through from 3-point range (1- of-6), but it wasn't nearly enough to give the squad a fighting chance.

The Mountaineers, who outscored Albany at the charity stripe (25-14), are now set to face off against LSU in the second round of the tourney on Tuesday, after the Lady Tigers easily dismissed Georgia Tech in a 98-78 decision earlier in the day on Sunday.