No. 21 WVU Eclipses Century Mark in Win
December 29, 2014 08:36 PM | General
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MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 21-ranked West Virginia University women’s basketball team used a dominating all-around performance to close out non-conference play with a 101-46 victory over Saint Francis on Monday evening at the WVU Coliseum.
The Mountaineers (10-2) started out the contest with 18-4 lead and used a 21-point second half spurt to snatch their 16th consecutive win inside the Coliseum. That streak is the fifth longest nationally and moves into a tie for the third longest in program history. WVU is now 5-0 all-time versus the Red Flash (1-10).
Four West Virginia players reached double figures, as Bria Holmes and Teana Muldrow paced the way with 23 points each. Holmes connected on four triples, eight field goals, grabbed seven rebounds and collected four steals. Muldrow made a career-best 10 field goals, while pulling in eight boards. Senior veterans Averee Fields (18) and Crystal Leary (14) rounded out the double-digit scoring.
Guard Linda Stepney helped distribute the strong WVU offensive attack with her career-high 12 assists. Her handouts were the most for a Mountaineer since Yolanda Paige in 2005. WVU’s 29 assists were the seventh-most in a single game.
“It was good that we got a lot of people in the game,” noted coach Mike Carey. “We committed way too many turnovers, but we got a lot of people minutes. I knew Saint Francis would be a little tired. They played last night at Pitt. We were able to get a lot of layups tonight.”
Offensively, WVU scored its 19th 100-point game in school history and matched a season-high with a 54.2 shooting percentage (42.1%). The Mountaineers dominated the paint with 50 points and scored 20 on the fast break. Defensively, WVU held Saint Francis to 25 percent (17-of-68) from the field. The aggressive effort resulted in 12 WVU steals and 23 Red Flash turnovers.
WVU started off the game with hot perimeter going 4-of-4 from three-point range to take an 18-4 edge at the first media timeout.
Saint Francis found gradual momentum with a five point swing, cutting WVU’s lead to 27-14. Triples from Holmes and Tyara Warren plus a pair of layups from WVU stretched the Mountaineer lead to 37-14.
West Virginia added nine more points to close out the first half. The Mountaineers made a season-best eight triples in the first half and closed the first stanza shooting 44.7 percent (17-of-38). SFU was limited to 27.8 percent (10-of-36) shooting and did not attempt a free throw. Holmes led all scorers with 15 points, including four triples. Alexa Hayward led the Red Flash with nine. She would finish the contest with a team-high 15.
Opening the second half with the biggest offensive spurt of the year, WVU reeled off 21 consecutive points to take a commanding lead over Saint Francis.
Saint Francis was unable to match the strong second half shooting effort from WVU. The Mountaineers knocked down 22-of-34 for 64.7 percent.
After a 10-2 mark in non-league action, West Virginia shifts its focus to Big 12 play with the conference opener at Oklahoma on Sunday, Jan. 4. Tip-off is set for 4:30 p.m. ET in a nationally televised game on Fox Sports 1.
NOTES:
WVU owns a 5-0 all-time record against Saint Francis … WVU has won 16 consecutive games inside the Coliseum - tied for the 5th longest in the nation … the 16 consecutive home wins is tied for the third-longest streak in school history … senior Averee Fields appeared in her 100th career game against Saint Francis … West Virginia set a new season high for three-pointers made in a half with seven … Bria Holmes posted her 16th straight game in double figures … Holmes registered her 17th career game with 20 points or more … Teana Muldrow recorded her fifth double-digit scoring game of the season and set a new career-best with 23 points … Muldrow’s 10 made fields were a career high … for the third time this season, Linda Stepney recorded double-digit assists … Stepney recorded a career-high 12 assists … Crystal Leary tied a career-high with 14 points … WVU’s 29 assists were the seventh-most in program history … West Virginia eclipse 100 points for the 19th time in program history … WVU has reached double-figure non-conference wins in 12 out of 14 seasons under Mike Carey, including 12 out of the last 13 seasons.
WVU owns a 5-0 all-time record against Saint Francis … WVU has won 16 consecutive games inside the Coliseum - tied for the 5th longest in the nation … the 16 consecutive home wins is tied for the third-longest streak in school history … senior Averee Fields appeared in her 100th career game against Saint Francis … West Virginia set a new season high for three-pointers made in a half with seven … Bria Holmes posted her 16th straight game in double figures … Holmes registered her 17th career game with 20 points or more … Teana Muldrow recorded her fifth double-digit scoring game of the season and set a new career-best with 23 points … Muldrow’s 10 made fields were a career high … for the third time this season, Linda Stepney recorded double-digit assists … Stepney recorded a career-high 12 assists … Crystal Leary tied a career-high with 14 points … WVU’s 29 assists were the seventh-most in program history … West Virginia eclipse 100 points for the 19th time in program history … WVU has reached double-figure non-conference wins in 12 out of 14 seasons under Mike Carey, including 12 out of the last 13 seasons.
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