No. 18 West Virginia Falls at Ohio State
December 22, 2014 01:04 PM | General
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COLUMBUS, Ohio - The No. 21/18-ranked West Virginia University women’s basketball team couldn’t overcome the hot perimeter play of Ohio State, as the Mountaineers fell 96-54 on Monday afternoon at the Value City Arena.
West Virginia (9-2) opened Monday’s contest to a six-point lead. However, the Buckeyes (8-4) roared back to take a commanding 43-29 halftime edge. In the second half, WVU cut the deficit to eight early on, but Ohio State knocked down six second half triples to finish the day with 13 and snap WVU’s seven-game win streak.
“Hats off to what Ohio State did today,” said associate head coach Chester Nichols. “They did what they needed to do, but we had some breakdowns.”
Junior Bria Holmes reached double-figures for the 15th consecutive game, recording a team-high 17 points and grabbing five rebounds. Averee Fields notched her third double-double this season, scoring 12 points and puling in 10 boards.
Linda Stepney reached a career milestone with her two assists, tying Cathy Parson for 15th all-time at WVU with 347. Stepney also reached WVU’s top-10 list with her 104th career start.
WVU shot just 31.3 percent (21-of-67) from the floor, as OSU finished 36-of-72 for 50 percent. West Virginia out-rebounded the Buckeyes 48-46. Ohio State tallied 28 points off 26 Mountaineer turnovers.
The first half saw West Virginia open to a 7-1. However, Ohio State fought back with a jump shot from Ameryst Alston and a tip-in from Alexa Hart to tie the game 7-7.
Ohio State used back-to-back triples from Alston to extend their edge and eventually take a 22-12 lead with 12:27 to play. Kelsey Mitchell hit consecutive treys to give OSU a 35-19 edge.
WVU was held to just four points in a four minute stretch as Ohio State pushed its ledge to 20. The Mountaineers clawed back to cut their halftime deficit to 14 points, 43-29. Offensively, WVU was limited to 35.3 percent (12-of-34) shooting. Ohio State knocked down seven triples and shot 40 percent (16-of-40) from the field. The Mountaineers committed 16 turnovers, while OSU converted those into 12 points. Field and Holmes each had nine points to lead WVU at the break.
The second half started off strong for West Virginia. A pair of Holmes free throw narrowed the Bucks’ lead to 10. However, Ohio State’s Mitchell added a seven point stretch to put OSU up 15.
Ohio State kept rolling from there, shooting at a 62.5 percent clip and finished the game shooting 50 percent (36-of-72). OSU’s 13 triples were the fourth most by a WVU opponent. Kelsey Mitchell hit an opponent record eight treys and tallied 39 points. Alston finished the contest with 26 points and Hart with 11.
West Virginia closes out nonconference play next Monday, Dec. 29 against Saint Francis in a 7 p.m. tilt at the WVU Coliseum.
NOTES: West Virginia moved up to No. 21 in the Associated Press poll released earlier on Monday … Linda Stepney made her 104th start on Monday, moving into a tie for 10th all-time with Judy Eaton … WVU is now 0-12 against Ohio State all-time … The 13 three-pointers for Ohio State were the fourth most by a WVU opponent in program history … OSU’s Kelsey Mitchell set an WVU opponent individual record with eight made triples … WVU last gave up 90 points on Nov. 19, 2009, when the Mountaineers fell 92-69 to OSU in Columbus … Averee Fields recorded her third double-double this season … Bria Holmes has reached double-digits in 15 straight games … Stepney’s two assists moved her to 15th on WVU’s all-time assists chart.
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