Box Score MORGANTOWN, W.Va.  – The West Virginia University women's basketball team caught fire late, outscoring James Madison, 19-7, in the fourth quarter to help the Mountaineers take down the Dukes, 67-55, in the third round of the Postseason WNIT on Friday night at the WVU Coliseum.
 
With the game tied at 48 going into the final frame, the Mountaineers used their late-game momentum to earn the victory, as four players finished in double figures. Senior forward Kristina King led the way with 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting. 
 
"Give James Madison a lot of credit; they came in here and played harder than we did," WVU coach Mike Carey said. "Our girls came out slow. We played defense in the  second quarter and fourth quarter. Usually, we play pretty good defense in the first quarter. I don't know ... we were slow, our shot was hitting the bottom of the rim, no energy."
 
Junior guard/forward Naomi Davenport found junior guard Katrina Pardee at the top of the key for a 3-pointer to open the scoring for the Mountaineers (24-11). Moments later, senior forward Teana Muldrow's put-back resulted in a three-point play to extend the lead to 6-2. 
 
With the game tied at 10, it was King's turn to cash in on an and-one. King was able to get a tough bucket to fall in the paint, before finishing the play with a make at the free-throw line. The Mebane, North Carolina, native did it again later on, giving WVU an 18-17 lead. However, the Dukes held a 21-20 advantage after 10 minutes, despite committing seven turnovers in the opening frame. 
 
After freshman guard Destiny Harden gave WVU the lead again in the opening minute of the second quarter, Davenport was able to cut to the rim for a layup to make it 24-21 Mountaineers. From there, senior guard Chania Ray buried a 3, extending the lead to six with 5:59 to go in the half.
 
The offensive fury was the start of a 15-0 run to start the quarter for WVU, which led by as many as 14 before the break. The Dukes didn't score in the second until the 2:38 mark but were still able to cut the Mountaineer lead to single digits by halftime.
 
King and Davenport combined for 10 of WVU's 15 second-quarter points as West Virginia headed into the locker room with a 35-26 lead. 
 
After JMU scored 10 of the first 14 points to begin the second half, freshman guard Ashley Jones hit a big 3 to give WVU a 42-36 lead. Still, the Dukes were able to tie the game at 42, before Ray hit another triple with 2:57 to go in the quarter. That, along with Davenport's three-point play at the 1:21 mark, helped give the Mountaineers a 48-46 advantage. But WVU was forced to settle for a 48-48 tie going into the final frame, as JMU outscored West Virginia, 22-13, in the period. 
 
Muldrow opened the fourth quarter with a turnaround jumper to give WVU a two-point lead. That started a 9-0 run to begin the period, which led to the Mountaineers taking a 58-49 lead. Pardee nailed a 3 with 5:09 to go before free throws sealed the deal for WVU.
 
James Madison didn't score until the 4:44 mark of the quarter and didn't register its first made field goal in the fourth quarter until the 2:07 mark. The Dukes got as close as five of the Mountaineer lead with 1:13 to go but couldn't draw any closer.
 
Along with King, Pardee finished with 16 points, while Davenport and Ray each chipped in 10 more. Muldrow was a point shy of a double-double, recording nine points and 10 rebounds.
 
WVU shot 23-of-57 as a team and outrebounded the Dukes, 42-35. The Mountaineers also went 16-of-20 from the charity stripe. James Madison, which was led by Kelly Koshuta's 22 points, shot 21-of-63 (33%) in the contest. 
 
With the win, the Mountaineers are set to host St. John's on Sunday at 4 p.m. at the WVU Coliseum in the Postseason WNIT Quarterfinals.