COLUMBUS, Ohio - Bria Holmes scored 26 points to lead the No. 6-seed West Virginia University women’s basketball team to a 74-65 victory over No. 11-seed Princeton in the NCAA Championship First Round on Friday afternoon at the Ohio State University’s St. John Arena.
There were seven lead changes and each team lead for nearly 20 minutes in the contest. West Virginia (25-9) overcame a slow first half and ended the opening half on a 14-8 run to take a 30-29 halftime lead. The Mountaineers opened the third quarter on a 9-2 run and took an eight-point lead before the Tigers (23-6) came firing back with a nine-point run of their own to take a one-point lead.
Tynice Martin was fouled from behind the three-point line with 2:23 left in the third period, she connected on all three free throws to give WVU a three-point lead. The Mountaineers maintained a 49-46 edge after three quarters.
In the fourth quarter, a Holmes layup and a Martin jumper stretched WVU’s advantage to 12. Alex Wheatley hit a layup under a minute to go to narrow the Mountaineers’ lead to five. WVU made six free throws down the stretch to pick up its first NCAA Tournament win since upending Albany 76-61 on March 23, 2014.
The Mountaineers advance to play No. 3-seed Ohio State on Sunday, March 20. Tipoff for the game will be announced later on Friday evening. West Virginia reached the 25-win plateau for the fifth time in program history and the fourth under coach Mike Carey.
Holmes netted 26 points and dished out a school NCAA Championship record eight assists in 39 minutes. The senior guard is now 20 points away from becoming the third Mountaineer to score 2,000 or more points. Martin added 16 points and matched a season-high eight rebounds, while picking up three steals. Chania Ray scored nine points, while Teanna Muldrow followed with eight. Lanay Montgomery led WVU with nine rebounds. Princeton’s Annie Tarakchian led the Tigers with 20 points and 10 rebounds.
“It’s tournament time, so you’re just trying to survive, and that’s what we did this game,” Carey said. “I give Princeton a lot of credit. They have a lot of seniors and they played hard. We were able to hit some shots, especially in the second half, so we were able to stretch out the lead a couple times.”
Offensively, WVU shot 39.3 percent (24-of-61) from the field compared to Princeton’s 42.6 percent (26-of-61). The Mountaineers scored 21 points off 13 Princeton turnovers and outscored the Tiger bench 26-14. West Virginia made 20-of-25 from the free throw line for 80.0 percent. WVU netted 14 assists, collected nine steals and blocked eight shots.
Princeton connected on six of its first nine shots, while the Mountaineers made just three of 13 as Princeton jumped out to a 13-7 advantage in the first five minutes. West Virginia rallied with a 9-5 run to close the quarter and trim Princeton’s edge to 18-16. Princeton ended the quarter shooting 47 percent (8-of-17) compared to West Virginia’s 25.0 percent (5-of-20).
The Tigers added the first five points in the second quarter. West Virginia outscored Princeton 14-to-6 in the last six minutes to take a 30-29 halftime advantage. Holmes led WVU with 12 points, while Montgomery netted eight rebounds. Princeton’s Alex Wheatley paced the Tigers with 12 points. WVU shot 28.1 percent (9-of-32) compared to PU’s 40.0 percent (12-of-30).
West Virginia opened the second half with a 9-2 run. However, the Tigers sprinted out on a nine-point run and took a 40-39 lead with a Tarakchian layup with four minutes remaining in the period. WVU sprinted on a 9-4 run and maintained a 49-44 edge with a minute left in the quarter. A Tarakchian bucket in the final minute narrowed WVU’s lead to 49-46 at the end of three.
In the final frame, the Mountaineers made nine of their 14 shots for 64 percent and held Princeton to 33 percent. Buckets from Holmes and Martin stretched WVU’s lead to 12 with 7:18 remaining. The Tigers cut the game to five points with a minute remaining. However, WVU made six free throws in the final 60 seconds to seal the win.
West Virginia advances to play Ohio State on Sunday, March 20. The game time will be determined later on Friday evening. Sunday’s game will be televised on ESPN2/WatchESPN.
NOTES: WVU is 9-10 all-time in NCAA Tournament games and is 7-8 under coach Mike Carey … West Virginia also has reached the 25-win plateau for the fifth time in program history and the fourth under Carey … West Virginia faced Princeton for the first time on the hardwood today, as WVU now owns a 5-0 record against Ivy League programs … West Virginia is 25-2 this season when leading at the half … the Mountaineers also are 16-0 when scoring 70 or more points this season … West Virginia is 22-6 this season when holding opponents to less than 69 points … WVU is 24-7 this season when outscoring the opponent’s bench … WVU has recorded five or more blocks in 32 of 34 games played this season … with four offensive rebounds, senior Arielle Roberson moved into third on WVU’s single-season senior list with 98 offensive rebounds … with 14 assists, WVU has distributed double-figure assists in 28 of 34 games this season … with a game-high 26 points, senior Bria Holmes is 20 points away from becoming the third Mountaineer to reach the 2,000-point club … Holmes has produced 98 games scoring in double-figures, which is third all-time at WVU … Holmes is third on WVU’s senior season leader list with 568 points and eighth all-time in a single season … Holmes also dished out a NCAA Tournament game-high eight assists on the day … freshman Tynice Martin also has registered double figures 18 times this season.
