Ardon Sparks Women's Basketball Past West Virginia, 62-47

Box Score

MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA (January 28, 2001) - Sophomore forward Leslie Ardon (Trinite, French West Indies) scored a career-high 24 points and pulled down eight rebounds to lead Seton Hall to a 62-47 win over West Virginia in a BIG EAST women's basketball game at the West Virginia Coliseum.

With the win, Seton Hall improves to 13-6 overall and 6-2 in BIG EAST play. The Pirates have won four of their last five games with the only loss coming against top-ranked Notre Dame. West Virginia, which has dropped five straight, falls to 4-14 and 2-5 in conference action.

Leading 22-21 with 4:47 left in the first half, Seton Hall closed the half with a 9-2 run to take an eight-point lead at halftime, 31-23.

West Virginia closed to within four points, 35-31, following a pair of free throws by Brandi Batch with 15:53 left in the half. But Seton Hall answered with a 19-4 run over the next 8:36 to open up a 54-35 lead. Freshman forward Charlene Thomas (Chester, PA) scored six of her 14 points during that stretch to ignite the Pirates.

Seton Hall turned in a strong defensive effort, holding West Virginia to just 23.4 percent shooting from the floor (11-for-47). The Mountaineers connected on just 3-of-14 attempts from three-point range. Guards Kate Bulger and Darya Kudryavtseva, West Virginia's leading scorers, entered the game averaging 15.1 points each. Seton Hall held them to a combined 13 points on 4-of-19 shooting.

Alia Clark led West Virginia with 14 points while Brandi Batch added 12.

Senior forward Devin Jefferson (Orange, NJ) added eight points for Seton Hall. Senior guard Arminda Moreno (Telde, Canary Islands) had seven, bringing her career total to 986. Charlene Thomas pulled down nine rebounds as the Pirates held a 44-35 advantage on the boards.

Seton Hall returns to action on Wednesday, January 31 when it hosts Boston College in a 7 p.m. BIG EAST game at Walsh Gymnasium.