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WVU Falls to No. 5/6 Longhorns
December 30, 2015 10:33 PM | Women's Basketball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - An early first quarter deficit hampered the West Virginia University women’s basketball team, as the Mountaineers fell to No. 5/6-ranked Texas, 65-54, on Wednesday evening in front of 4,153 fans at the WVU Coliseum.
Texas (12-0, 1-0) opened the game with a 10-0 advantage. Freshman Tynice Martin banked a three-pointer and Arielle Roberson hit a free throw late in the second quarter to cut UT’s edge to 27-24 with 2:22 remaining. However, the Longhorns pushed its advantage to eight points at halftime. Texas led by as many as 15 points in the fourth quarter before WVU (11-3, 0-1) executed an 8-1 run to cut the game to eight with 1:33 remaining. Texas added three points down the stretch to secure its first win in Morgantown after three previous unsuccessful tries.
Martin matched a career-high with 15 points. The Atlanta native knocked down three treys and recorded an assist and steal in 31 minutes of play. Bria Holmes tallied 12 points and dished out a team-leading three assists. The senior climbed to No. 7 on the program’s all-time scoring chart with 1,652 points, surpassing Liz Repella (1,641). Senior Jessica Morton finished with a season-high 10 points, including three made three-pointers. Roberson’s 11 rebounds and three steals led West Virginia.
Offensively, West Virginia was limited to a season-low 54 points and a 30.0 field goal percentage (18-of-60). Texas made 42.6 percent from the field with 14 assists. The Longhorns won the battle on the glass, 46-38, and outscored WVU 34-16 in the paint. West Virginia registered eight three pointers and finished 34.8 percent (8-of-23) behind the arc.
Ariel Atkins paced UT with a game-high 18 points. Imani Boyette recorded 15 points, 14 rebounds and six blocks for the Longhorns.
“I thought our girls battled tonight, especially our young players,” said coach Mike Carey. “I was pleased with our young players. I thought our veterans didn’t step up like they should have. After that first period when Texas went up 10-0, we played pretty even the rest of the game. We came out flat, and we came out not playing and not doing what we needed to do. I definitely thought our young players, like Tynice Martin and Alexis Brewer, both went in there and weren’t intimidated.”
Texas dominated in the first five minutes of the game, opening to a 10-0 lead. Boyette had six of UT’s first 10 points. However, the Mountaineers came firing back with two three-pointers and a Holmes layup to cut the deficit to 10-8 with 4:07 left in the quarter. UT then procced on an 8-2 run to close the half and take a seven point lead after one.
In the second quarter, West Virginia climbed back to within three. Martin connected on a three-pointer and Roberson’s made free throw, narrowed the game to 27-24 with 2:22 left in the stanza. However, Texas added a five point spurt to take a 32-24 halftime advantage.
The Longhorns shot 42.9 percent (15-of-35) from the field, while WVU was limited to 32.0 percent shooting (8-of-25). UT outrebounded WVU 22-17 and scored 11 points off 16 Mountaineer turnovers. Martin led West Virginia with eight points, while Ariel Atkins and Imani Boyette each had six for Texas.
WVU’s offense started the third quarter slowly, as the Mountaineers missed eight of its first nine shots. The Longhorns pushed their lead to 13 midway through the frame. However, WVU cut the game back to seven with a pair of Holmes free throws. Texas maintained a nine point lead at the break. WVU shot 29.4 percent (5-of-17) compared to UT’s 45.5 percent (5-of-11) in the third quarter.
Brooke McCarty’s jumper at the 3:46 mark in the fourth quarter gave Texas its largest lead of the game. Morton’s three-pointer with 1:33 remaining narrowed the contest to 62-54, capping an 8-1 Mountaineer run. UT added three points down the stretch to collect a conference-opening victory. Wednesday evening’s attendance of 4,153 ranked 19th all-time for a women’s basketball game at the WVU Coliseum.
West Virginia looks to regroup at Kansas on Sunday, Jan. 3. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT at Allen Fieldhouse. The contest will air on ESPN3 and the
WatchESPN app. The Jayhawks (5-7, 0-1) fell 67-44 to No. 18/19-ranked Oklahoma in their Big 12 opener.
NOTES: WVU is now 5-4 all-time versus Texas …Tynice Martin led WVU with 15 points, matching a career high that was set against Marshall on Dec. 13 … Morton scored a season-high 10 points … Roberson recorded a season-best three steals … tonight’s contest against Texas was the second lowest scoring output in the first half this season, while the first happened against Gonzaga (62-57) … WVU recorded season-lows in points (54), field goal percentage (30.0%) and assists (8) … Wednesday’s attendance of 4,153, ranks as the 19th largest to watch a women’s basketball game at the WVU Coliseum.
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