MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - The West Virginia University women’s basketball team hits the road for a 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT matchup at Texas Tech on Tuesday, Feb. 2, in Lubbock, Texas. The game is televised nationally on FS2 with Ron Thulin and Brenda VanLengen calling the action.
West Virginia (16-6, 5-4 Big 12) fell, 71-61, to No. 4-ranked Baylor on Saturday at the WVU Coliseum. Texas Tech (11-10, 2-8) snapped a three-game losing skid with a 54-44 victory over Kansas last Saturday.
Jeff Culhane and Liz Repella will call the action locally on 94.3 FM WRLF. Fans can also listen to the contest online at WVUsports.com or by using the WVU Gameday app.
West Virginia and Texas Tech conclude the regular season series on Tuesday. The Mountaineers outscored the Lady Raiders, 35-15, in the second and third quarters to prevail 79-57 in Morgantown on Jan. 3. Holmes led West Virginia with 18 points, while Arielle Roberson corralled 11 rebounds. Texas Tech’s Ivonne CookTaylor made 9-of-18 from the field and finished with a game-high 20 points. The series is even at 4-4, but TTU owns a 2-1 edge in Lubbock. Last season, the Lady Raiders collected a 73-57 victory at the United Supermarkets Arena. A win on Tuesday would give West Virginia its second series sweep of the year and match the team’s regular season win total from last season.
“We need to make a run here,” said coach Mike Carey. “We need to get some wins in a row here and gain some confidence. It’s very important for league play, tournament play and that type of stuff. They need to win, but we also need to win. We need to go down there focused and ready to play.”
Bench scoring continues to be one of West Virginia’s biggest strengths. The Mountaineers are scoring a league-leading 31.6 points from the bench and have produced 30 or more points off the bench in nine consecutive games. WVU’s 44.3 field goal percentage is third in the Big 12 and 31st nationally. The Mountaineers lead the conference with 6.3 blocks per game and rank sixth nationally. WVU’s field goal percentage defense of 34.2 is 16th nationally.
Holmes, a Senior CLASS Award candidate, leads the team with 16.8 points per game. The New Haven, Connecticut, native is the Big 12’s active leading scorer with 1,781 career points. Holmes ranks in top 10 in 12 different statistical categories at West Virginia.
Montgomery leads the Mountaineers with a 59.5 field goal percentage, 8.5 rebounds per game and 2.9 blocks per game. Montgomery needs two more blocks to reach 200 in her three-year career. Teana Muldrow is second on the team with 11.0 points per game, while Martin follows with 9.6 points per contest.
Texas Tech is averaging 66.8 points per game and giving up 64.5 per contest. TTU is shooting 40.0 percent from the field, while opponents shoot 39.9 percent. CookTaylor paces the Lady Raiders with 14.1 points per game. Freshman Japreece Dean is second on the team with 12.4 points per game. Rayven Brooks is averaging 10.0 points per contest and leads TTU with 35 made three-pointers this season. Leashja Grant is the Lady Raiders’ top rebounder, grabbing 7.0 boards per game.
The Mountaineers return home to host Kansas State on Saturday, Feb. 6, in the annual Play 4Kay pink game. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. at the WVU Coliseum. Fans can print off a free ticket courtesy of WVU Medicine by visiting wvusports.com/pink.
