MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - The West Virginia University women’s basketball team overcame a sluggish first half to knock off Hampton 57-39 on Tuesday evening to advance to the third round of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT).
A low-scoring first half gave WVU a 22-15 edge at the break. The Mountaineers (20-14) outscored the Lady Pirates (19-13) 15-7 in the final five minutes of the second half to reach the 20-win plateau for the ninth time under coach Mike Carey.
WVU advances to the WNIT third round for the second time in program history. The Mountaineers will face a rematch with Duquesne on Thursday, March 26 in a 7 p.m. tilt. In the previous meeting on December 10, WVU won 79-60.
Three Mountaineers tallied double-figures, as Averee Fields paced the way with 16 points and seven rebounds. Linda Stepney had 14 points, while Bria Holmes finished with 11. Lanay Montgomery, a native of Pittsburgh, snatched 10 boards for her 10th double-figure rebound game of the year.
Despite only hitting 36 percent of its shots in the first half, WVU finished shooting at a 40.4 percent clip (19-of-47). Hampton was held to 26.4 percent (14-of-53) shooting. WVU dominated inside the paint, outscoring HU 22-16. Also, West Virginia slightly edged Hampton in rebounds, 40-37.
“Let me just say it’s good to get to 20 wins,” noted Carey. “That team played a triangle-and-two, and we didn’t adjust very well. When we adjusted to it, we got what we wanted. It was a good team effort. At tournament time, you’re just trying to get to the next game and we were able to do that.
We had a good crowd. We play at home again here at Thursday against Duquesne. I think the guys play at 10:00 so hopefully we can get fans here and they can go back and watch the game.”
The first half started slow as West Virginia opened out to a four-point lead. The Lady Pirates pushed back and held a 10-9 lead with 11:55 left in the first half. The Pirates jumped out to a two-point edge under the eight minute mark.
West Virginia closed out the half on an 11-2 run to take a 22-15 lead at the break. The Mountaineers made 9-of-25 for 36 percent, while Hampton was limited to 7-of-33 for 21.2 percent. Hampton won the rebound column 25-20. HU’s Malia Tate-DeFreitas led all scorers with seven points, while Holmes had six for WVU.
Holmes’ made a three-pointer at the 17:50 mark extended West Virginia’s lead to 27-17. Tate-DeFrietas’ jumper cut the game to six. WVU pushed the lead back double-figures, but Hampton continued to push the game to under double-digits with eight minutes remaining. Defrietas finished with a game-high 21 points for Hampton.
A layup by Teana Muldrow with 5:30 remaining in the game pushed WVU’s lead back to 10. From there, the Mountaineers went on a 15-7 run to pick up their 16th win inside the Coliseum this season.
Tipoff for Thursday’s contest versus Duquesne is set for 7 p.m. inside the WVU Coliseum. General admission tickets are $7, while youth tickets are $4. WVU students and Carey’s Crew members receive free admission courtesy of United Bank. A valid student ID or Carey’s Crew membership card must be shown to receive the free ticket.
A discounted group rate of $4 is available, but must be purchased in advance. To purchase tickets, visit
WVUGAME.com or call 1-800-WVU GAME. Flex plan tickets cannot be redeemed for WNIT games. Season ticket holders can purchase their same reserved seats by calling the Mountaineer Ticket Office at 1-800-WVU GAME before 5 p.m. on Wednesday, March 24.
NOTES:
West Virginia has reached the 20-win plateau for the ninth time under Mike Carey … It is the 13th time in program history the Mountaineers have recorded 20 or more wins in a season … This is West Virginia’s ninth straight postseason appearance and the 14th overall in program history … WVU improved to 87-6 in home games against non-conference opponents since 2002 … West Virginia has won 16 games at the WVU Coliseum this season … The Mountaineers have won 15 consecutive home games against non-conference opponents dating back to last season … WVU advances to the WNIT third round for the second time and the first since 2005 … West Virginia improved to 2-0 all-time against Hampton … WVU’s Crystal Leary and Linda Stepney both played under current Hampton coach David Six in AAU basketball … Bria Holmes recorded her 33rd double-digit scoring game of the season and her 64th of her career … For the 10th time this season, Lanay Montgomery recorded double-digit rebounds … Averee Fields scored in double figures for the 29th time this season and the 50th time in her career.
