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West Virginia Holds Off Yale for Victory
November 29, 2015 08:15 PM | Women's Basketball
FINAL BOX | SEASON STATS | PHOTOS
UNCASVILLE, Conn. – Strong offensive efforts from Bria Holmes and Teana Muldrow helped the West Virginia University women’s basketball team secure a 70-60 victory over Yale in the final game of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Women’s Challenge, today, at the Mohegan Sun Arena.
West Virginia (4-2) opened the game on an 8-2 run and held a comfortable lead for most of the first half. Yale (4-3) climbed back from a 15-point second half deficit, thanks to 12 fourth quarter points from guard Whitney Wyckoff. Yale cut the game to 63-60 with a free throw from Tamara Simpson at the 1:04 mark. Holmes found Lanay Montgomery with a layup to push WVU’s lead to five. The Mountaineers then scored five more consecutive points to secure the win.
With the victory on Sunday, coach Mike Carey tied Kittie Blakemore as the program’s all-time wins leader with 301 victories. Carey is now one win away from becoming the program’s leader.
“I liked the way we closed out the game, but we still need to work on rebounding,” said Carey. “I am proud of the way we finished.”
Overall, WVU connected on 47.3 percent (26-of-55) from while Yale made 35.2 percent. WVU dominated the paint 44-32 and scored 19 points off 18 Yale turnovers.
Muldrow netted a game-high 20 points, while Holmes followed with 18. Muldrow helped lead the Mountaineers with 10 first half points, while Holmes netted 13 of her points in the second half. Holmes was named the Most Valuable Player in front of her home state. The New Haven native averaged 19.5 points in four games during the Hall of Fame Challenge. Montgomery added 11 points after missing the majority of the first half due to foul trouble. Freshman Katrina Pardee netted six points in the triumph.
The Mountaineers opened the game with a 10-2 edge in the first six minutes. However, Yale climbed 21-8 at the end of one.
Yale used a five-point run to cut its deficit to 10 in the second quarter. Nyasha Sarju’s jumper with 1:16 left cut the Mountaineers deficit to eight. A Meghan McIntyre trey made the game 29-22 with 32.5 seconds remaining. Teana Muldrow added her 10th point of the half with a bucket in the final seconds, as WVU took a 31-22 halftime lead.
Both teams scored 22 points each in the third quarter. Holmes had a hot third quarter after netting nine points. WVU pushed its lead 51-38 with 2:27 left before Yale closed the period on a 6-2 run.
In the final quarter, Yale fought back from a double digit deficit to pull within three with a minute remaining. A Simpson free throw cut the game to 63-60. Montgomery’s layup pushed the game to 65-60 and WVU proceeded on a five-point run to close the game.
West Virginia returns home from a four-game road swing on Wednesday, Dec. 2, against Morehead State. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at the WVU Coliseum.
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