MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - The West Virginia University women’s basketball team cruised past Coppin State with a 96-64 victory, Monday evening, inside the WVU Coliseum.

 

The Mountaineers (2-0) fired on all cylinders offensively, scoring a Coliseum-record 63 points in half. That mark bested the previous record of 62 set against Duquesne in 1991. Coppin State (0-2) bounced back to score 38 points in the second half, as the Mountaineers eclipsed 90 points for the first time since tallying 101 against Saint Francis (Pa.) last season.

 

Senior guard Bria Holmes led all scorers with 23 points, while grabbing seven rebounds and dishing out five assists. The New Haven, Connecticut, native netted a new career-high 88.9 field goal percentage in 25 minutes of action. Holmes also climbed to No. 14 on the WVU’s all-time scoring chart with 1,444 points, surpassing Maria Tchobanova (1,426) and Alexis Basil (1,429).

 

WVU saw another strong performance from Teana Muldrow off the bench, as the sophomore posted 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds in the win. Muldrow’s 85.7 field goal percentage (6-of-7) also set a career-high. Freshman Tynice Martin reached double figures for the first time, scoring 14 points. Additionally, Jessica Morton led the Mountaineers with a career-high six assists, while scoring eight points.

 

“I thought we came out and played hard defense in the first half, but then in the second half they stopped playing and stopped focusing,” said coach Mike Carey, who notched his 299th career victory on Monday. “Everything we didn’t do in the first half, we did the second half.”

 

The Mountaineers shot 59 percent (36-of-61) from the field – the highest percentage for the team since notching 64.4 percent shooting against Youngstown State on Dec. 16, 2012. WVU dished out 24 assists, snatched nine steals and blocked seven shots in the triumph. Overall, Coppin State was limited to 36.9 percent shooting (24-of-65) for the game.

 

WVU opened the game with nine straight points, which included five points from senior forward Arielle Roberson. A pair of buckets from CSU’s Keena Samuels and a layup from Genesis Lucas cut Coppin State’s deficit to 9-6 with 6:18 remaining.

 

The Mountaineers pushed its lead back to double-digits with two made free throws from senior guard Bria Holmes with under two minutes to go in the first. Holmes finished the first period with 10 points and moved to No. 14 on WVU’s all-time scoring chart.

 

WVU strung together its most impressive stanza of the young season with 33 points in the second quarter. The Mountaineers completed the first half with a 64.9 percent (24-of-37), while holding the Lady Eagles to 31.3 percent shooting (10-of-32).

 

WVU forced 11 CSU turnovers and converted those into 13 points. The paint was dominated, 30-14, by the Mountaineers. Holmes led all scorers with 19 points, followed by 13 from Muldrow. Lucas led CSU with six points.

 

The Lady Eagles took control in the third quarter, as Coppin State ended the period with a four-point edge. The freshman Martin connected on a three pointer from behind the arc, with 3:36 to go in the third quarter to extend the Mountaineers lead 79-38. At that point, the Lady Eagles recorded a 7-0 run of their own, as the Mountaineers did not score for over three minutes to end the period. 

 

Muldrow tallied a fast break layup to start the fourth quarter. Samuels scored a three pointer with 7:42 to go in the game, but Coppin State went on another scoring drought to close out the game.

 

WVU has won 20 consecutive games at the Coliseum against non-conference foes and improve its series record to 8-0 over Coppin State. With Monday’s win, coach Carey is now a win away from notching his 300th career win and three away from becoming the program’s all-time wins leader.

 

The Mountaineers open the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Women’s Challenge at Gonzaga on Sunday, Nov. 22, in a 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT tipoff at the McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane, Washington. The Mountaineers will then play USC on Monday, Nov. 23, and Grand Canyon on Tuesday, Nov. 24, in Spokane, Washington. Both contests are slated for 11 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT tipoffs. 

 

Coach Mike Carey now has 299 career victories … he is one away from reaching his 300th win at WVU and three away from becoming WVU women’s basketball’s all-time wins leader … Kittie Blakemore currently holds that title with 301 victories … coach Carey also is 13 wins shy of reaching his 600th career victory … WVU has won 20 consecutive games at the Coliseum against nonconference foes … West Virginia is 92-7 at home against nonconference opponents since 2002 … the Mountaineers have won nine consecutive games at the Coliseum since knocking off Iowa State on Feb. 21, 2015 … West Virginia set a Coliseum record with points in a half to lead Coppin State 63-26 at the break … senior guard Bria Holmes recorded her 25th 20-point game, and now ties former player Donna Abbott for sixth all time … With 23 points on the night, Holmes moved to No. 14 on WVU’s all-time scoring chart with 1,444 points, surpassing Alexis Basil … freshman Anja Martin recorded a career-high 12 points and shot 4-of-6 from the field, with one from 3-point range … senior Jessica Morton dished out a career-high six assists against Coppin State … with the win, the Mountaineers improve to 8-0 all-time against the Lady Eagles.