WVU may be without leading scorer KK Deans against Charlotte

MORGANTOWN — As West Virginia looks to rebound after a 23-point loss against No. 14 Kentucky, the Mountaineers may have to do it without their leading scorer.

WVU head coach Mike Carey confirmed Monday that junior guard KK Deans has been very limited in practice after hurting her ankle against the Wildcats and may not play Tuesday against Charlotte (3-4).

“With KK, we’re not 100 percent (if she’ll play),” Carey said. “She sprained her ankle in the Kentucky game and has not been in practice. She did a little shooting (Sunday) and maybe she’ll do a little more than that. We’ll have to see where she’s at. If it’s not where it needs to be, I’m not going to play her.”

Deans scores 15.8 points per game and is also second on the team with 21 assists.

WVU STATS

It is another obstacle the Mountaineers (4-2) must overcome at what may be a critical point of the season.

WVU has lost two straight, albeit against two teams in BYU and Kentucky that are both ranked in the top 20 of the AP poll.

The 83-60 loss against Kentucky last Wednesday brought with it, Carey said, some negative body language from his players.

He has spent the week since sitting down with many of his older players individually to hear their concerns, as well as giving them honest evaluations on where they stand with the team.

“After the Kentucky game, I really didn’t like the body language,” Carey said. “Nothing was said, but I didn’t like the body language. We’ve got some things to fix. It’s early.

“We have a lot of new people here, and when you lose a couple of games, you’ve got to be careful. I’ve been meeting with players to make sure we’re all pulling in the same direction.”

The first six games have been an adjustment period for WVU players, many of whom were used to lots of playing time in previous seasons when WVU’s roster size was limited.

That’s not the case this season, with 11 players appearing in all six games.

That’s created some different individual stats.

A season ago, forward Esmery Martinez was one of the leading rebounders in the country, but has had just two games this season with 10 or more boards. Kari Niblack has averaged 9.4 points and 6.1 rebounds over her career, but her numbers this season are lower.

Madisen Smith is averaging just 2.7 points per game, about five points lower than her career average.

Yet, WVU’s team rebounding and scoring numbers are on pace with what the Mountaineers did last season when they played in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

“We need everybody to do their jobs,” Carey said. “We have had Ari (Gray) come in and give us some scoring and rebounds, but we need our key players to step up. Not only playing-wise, but leadership-wise.”

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