WVU Advances to Big 12 Quarterfinals
March 06, 2015 11:07 PM | General
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DALLAS - The No. 7-seed West Virginia University women’s basketball used a 25-5 second half run to topple No. 10-seed Texas Tech, 59-40, in the first round of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship on Friday evening at the American Airlines Center.
Tied at 27 in the second half, the Mountaineers (18-13) used a 25-5 run to break away and reach the quarterfinals of the Big12 Championship for a third straight year. Texas Tech (15-16) was limited to just 16 second half points in the loss. West Virginia returns to action against No. 2-seed Oklahoma on Saturday, March 7. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. ET at the American Airlines Center.
Bria Holmes led all scorers with 21 points, making 7-of-16 from the field. Senior Averee Fields tallied double-figures with 13 points and three assists. Freshman Teana Muldrow had eight rebound and seven points, while senior Linda Stepney dished out seven assists and grabbed seven boards.
"I thought our effort was tremendous," said coach Mike Carey. " I thought our first two times against them, they played harder than we did. Tonight I thought we played hard."
Offensively, West Virginia knocked down 42 percent (21-of-50) from the field and limited Texas Tech to just 26.4 percent (14-of-53) from the field. That shooting percentage was the lowest for a Big 12 opponent this season. West Virginia won the rebound column handily, 42-30, and picked up 12 steals in the triumph.
The first nine minutes started off slow for both teams as the two squads combined for 11 turnovers. The game sat even, 6-6, with 11:14 left in the first half.
West Virginia went up five on a couple of occasions, including a jumper from Jessica Morton with nine minutes remaining. However, TTU fired back to cut the game to 13-12.
A Holmes layup gave West Virginia its largest lead, 22-15, with 3:31 remaining. An Amber Battle layup in the final seconds made it a 27-24 game at the break.
WVU shot 42.1 percent (8-of-19) in the opening half, keeping Texas Tech to 33.3 percent (10-of-30). The Mountaineers narrowly held a 17-15 edge in the rebound column. Holmes led WVU with 10 points, while TTU’s Ivonne CookTaylor had a game-high 14.
Battle connected on a pair of free throws to equalize the game at 27-27. That lead was short-lived with two triples and a bucket to push the Mountaineers up by eight.
WVU used a 25-5 run to take a commanding 50-33 lead with eight minutes left. Texas Tech was unable to make a comeback in the loss. CookTaylor had 20 points to lead the Lady Raiders.
The Mountaineers resume action in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship on Saturday, March 7 versus No. 2-seed Oklahoma. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. ET. Fans can watch the game locally on ROOT SPORTS Pittsburgh/Fox Sports Net.
NOTES:
For the fourth straight year, West Virginia has advanced to the conference tournament quarterfinals, and has reached the quarterfinals 11 out of the last 12 years … WVU met Texas Tech for the first time in the Big 12 Championship, as it defeated the Lady Raiders for the first time this season … the Mountaineers are 3-2 all-time, as the team participated in their third Phillips 66 Big 12 Conference Championship … WVU is now 5-5 all-time at the No. 7-seed in conference tournament play … WVU will face Oklahoma for the second time in the Big 12 Championship … the Mountaineers are 15-2 this season when leading at halftime … junior Bria Holmes tallied a team-high 21 points, and has scored double-figures in 33 of her last 34 games … West Virginia was 12-of-14 from the free throw line, as Holmes went a perfect 5-for-5 from the charity stripe … senior Linda Stepney dished out six assists on the night, as she topped Asya Bussie’s four assists against TCU on March 8, 2014, and freshman Teana Muldrow is the third all-time player to pull down eight rebounds in Big 12 tournament play.
For the fourth straight year, West Virginia has advanced to the conference tournament quarterfinals, and has reached the quarterfinals 11 out of the last 12 years … WVU met Texas Tech for the first time in the Big 12 Championship, as it defeated the Lady Raiders for the first time this season … the Mountaineers are 3-2 all-time, as the team participated in their third Phillips 66 Big 12 Conference Championship … WVU is now 5-5 all-time at the No. 7-seed in conference tournament play … WVU will face Oklahoma for the second time in the Big 12 Championship … the Mountaineers are 15-2 this season when leading at halftime … junior Bria Holmes tallied a team-high 21 points, and has scored double-figures in 33 of her last 34 games … West Virginia was 12-of-14 from the free throw line, as Holmes went a perfect 5-for-5 from the charity stripe … senior Linda Stepney dished out six assists on the night, as she topped Asya Bussie’s four assists against TCU on March 8, 2014, and freshman Teana Muldrow is the third all-time player to pull down eight rebounds in Big 12 tournament play.
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