MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - The West Virginia University women’s basketball team rallied from a 14-point hole in the second half to knock off No. 24-ranked Texas, 76-69, in overtime on Sunday afternoon at the WVU Coliseum.

 

There were plenty of runs by both teams, but Texas (19-9, 8-9 Big 12) held strong most of regulation. Determined not to lose on Senior Day, veteran Averee Fields’ jumper with six minutes remaining cut the Mountaineers’ deficit to 10 points. WVU (17-12, 7-10) went on a 15-4 run from that point, which culminated on a Fields jumper that tied the game, 61-61, with 14 seconds remaining.

 

In overtime, three-pointers from Fields and Bria Holmes helped West Virginia stretch its lead to five. Texas cut the lead to three after a Brooke McCarty jumper with 1:22 remaining, but WVU connected on 7-of-8 free throws to seal its 14th win at home this season. It was the first overtime game for West Virginia since defeating Texas, 56-49, on Jan. 12, 2014 in Morgantown. Sunday's attendance of 4,303 was the largest of the season and the 16th largest at the WVU Coliseum. 

 

“It was a great win,” said coach Mike Carey. “It was great for the seniors to go out this way. We could have folded when we were down, and earlier in the season we would have. I give them credit. Everyone fought and played hard, and when you do that good things happen.”

 

Fields and Holmes both matched game-highs with 19 points. Bre McDonald (13) and Linda Stepney also contributed with double figures. McDonald and Holmes each had eight boards in the victory, while Stepney distributed a game-best seven assists.

 

Overall, West Virginia finished shooting 39.1 percent (25-of-64) from the field. Texas connected slightly better at 43.9 percent (25-of-57). From the charity stripe, the Mountaineers made 21-of-24 for 87.5 percent. On the defensive end, WVU turned 17 Longhorn turnovers into 20 points.

 

Both teams traded buckets early on before Texas capitalized on a six-minute WVU scoring drought and took a 16-7 lead. In the final 10 minutes of the half, West Virginia used a 9-2 lead to cut their double-figure deficit. Crystal Leary’s two free throw makes cut the game to 24-23. However a Longhorn 9-2 run gave UT a 33-25 halftime lead.

 

In the opening half, UT made 12-of-24 from the field for 50 percent while keeping WVU at 32 percent (8-of-25). The Longhorns held a rebound advantage by six and outscored WVU 16-8 in the paint. Imani McGee-Stafford had a game-high 12 points at the break, while Holmes and Muldrow each had six points.

 

Stepney hit a pair of layups with 12 minutes remaining to cut the game to five, but Texas again was able to push to a double-digit lead. The Longhorns held a 14-point edge, 52-38, with under nine minutes remaining in the contest.

 

Fields found a triple with six minutes left to cut the game to 10. From there, WVU went on a 15-4 run. Fields’ jumper with 14 seconds left tied the game, 61-61, sending it to the Mountaineers’ first overtime contest this season.

 

Triples from Holmes and Fields helped WVU jump out to a five-point edge in overtime, never relinquishing the lead. West Virginia hit 7-of-8 from the charity stripe to win the game and snapping Texas’ four-game winning streak. McGee-Stafford finished with a double-double scoring 19 points and grabbing 12 boards for the Longhorns.

 

West Virginia closes out Big 12 regular-season action this Tuesday, March 3 at Kansas State. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. in Manhattan. The contest will air regionally on Fox College Sports Atlantic/Fox Sports Kansas City.

 

Prior to the game, West Virginia honored its three seniors in Averee Fields, Crystal Leary and Linda Stepney … WVU also recognized its senior practice players and six senior managers during the game, and the team wore a patch on its uniform to honor freshman manager Aliyia Hanock, who passed away in 2014 … today’s attendance was 4,303, which marked the largest home crowed this year, and the 16th largest crowd at the WVU Coliseum in program history … the Mountaineers battled back from 14-points down at the eight minute mark in the second half to force the game into overtime for the first time since Jan. 12, 2014 against Texas at the WVU Coliseum … the last two games versus Texas in Morgantown have went to overtime … the last time the Mountaineers won after trailing by 10 or more points was against Iowa State on Feb. 21st … the last time WVU beat a Top-25 team at home was on Feb. 1st against Oklahoma  … the Mountaineers pushed the all-time series record with the Longhorns to 5-3, and is a perfect 3-0 in Morgantown … WVU also holds a perfect 10-0 mark when scoring 60 or more points … West Virginia is 6-1 when having four players reach double figures … Bria Holmes has scored double-figures in 31 of her last 32 games.