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Holmes Reaches 2,000 Points in Loss to OSU
March 20, 2016 03:37 PM | Women's Basketball
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The No. 6-seed West Virginia University women’s basketball team fell short in a thrilling offensive contest with an 88-81 loss to No. 3-seed Ohio State on Sunday afternoon in the NCAA Championship Second Round, inside Ohio State University’s St. John Arena.
West Virginia (25-10) held a 21-15 lead after the first quarter, but Ohio State (26-7) used a 17-3 spurt to open the second quarter to take the lead. The game was tied 39-39 at halftime after OSU’s Kelsey Mitchell hit a three-pointer to tie the contest. Late in the third quarter, the Buckeyes used a 13-3 run and pushed its lead to 12.
Senior Jessica Morton hit a jumper to cut the OSU lead to 80-77 with 1:18 remaining in the contest. The teams traded free throws to keep the game at three points with 27 seconds remaining. OSU made one free throw with 25 seconds remaining to push the edge to four. A WVU turnover on the next possession resulted in an easy Buckeye layup, as Ohio State held on to advance to its first Sweet 16 appearance since 2011.
Bria Holmes netted a team-best 21 points to lead the Mountaineers. With a free throw late in the game, Holmes became the third Mountaineer to reach the 2,000-point club for her career. The New Haven, Connecticut, native finished with 2,001 career points. Tynice Martin registered 16 points and eight rebounds. Teana Muldrow tallied 15 points, grabbed nine boards and blocked three shots. Morton scored 12 points to cap her career.
“We got impatient. The first quarter we were advancing the ball and passing it around, spreading it around," said coach Mike Carey. "Then all of a sudden we started holding onto the ball too much. When you hold the ball that’s when they’re pretty good. They’re going to try to get you to turn it over. The difference in the game was they went to the foul line a lot more than we did and we turned it over a lot more than they did. If we don’t turn it over 27 times then I’m coming in here after them. But I’m in here first. You can’t turn the ball over 27 times against a good team like that.”
Overall, West Virginia committed 27 turnovers resulting 40 Buckeye points. The Mountaineers outscored OSU 36-24 in the paint and scored 46 bench points. WVU shot 47.7 percent (31-of-65) from the field compared to Ohio State’s 37.1 percent (26-of-70). The Buckeyes made 26-of-33 (78.8 percent) from the charity stripe, while WVU made 10-of-13 (76.9 percent). Mitchell netted 45 points for Ohio State, marking the second-highest point total for a Mountaineer opponent in a game. Baylor’s Odyssey Sims tallied 48 points against WVU in 2014.
The first six minutes of the opening quarter was an offensive frenzy. The Mountaineers jumped out to a 17-13 lead, despite Ohio State shooting 67 percent in the opening few minutes. Martin and Muldrow added jumpers to give West Virginia a 21-15 advantage after one quarter.
Ohio State utilized a 17-3 run to start the quarter, while West Virginia was held scoreless for five minutes. Holmes nailed a trey to tie the game at 24-24 with 6:27 remaining in the period. However, OSU would stretch its lead to 32-24 after another Mitchell three-pointer. WVU rallied on a 12-2 run to take a 37-34 lead with 1:41 remaining. The game was tied 39-39 at halftime. Remarkably, the previous NCAA Tournament meeting against the Buckeyes was tied 38-38 at the half on March 20, 2004 in St. John Arena.
WVU shot 46.9 percent (15-of-32) compared to Ohio State’s 45.2 percent (14-of-31). The Buckeyes banked six triples out of nine attempts for 66.7 percent. The Mountaineers won the rebound battle, 25-11, and outscored OSU, 18-10, inside the paint. Mitchell had 20 points for Ohio State, while Holmes led WVU with 13.
Starting the third quarter, Ohio State broke open the game with a 13-3 run to take a 52-43 edge with 6:28 left. The Mountaineers trimmed the game down to three from a Brewer three-pointer, 54-51, with 3:22 left. However, OSU responded with an eight-point run. Ray’s three-pointer at the end of the third quarter capped a five-point sprint to cut the game to 67-60.
In the fourth quarter, the Mountaineers trimmed the game to four with a Muldrow bucket. However, OSU pushed its lead back to nine. West Virginia trimmed the game late in the contest, but were unable to breakthrough.
The Mountaineers finished the 2015-16 season with a 25-10 overall record. WVU exceeded a predicted sixth-place finish in the Big 12 with a 12-6 third-place mark in the league. WVU recorded 25 wins this season with 11 newcomers – the most for any team in the country this season.
“I told them before the game they did a great job this year and I’m proud of them," said Carey. "The seniors did a great job. Bria Holmes had a great, great career and she’s been a model student on and off the floor. Jessica Morton will be the first person from her family to graduate from college, she’s had a great career. And Arielle [Roberson] came in here as a fifth year senior and she really did a great job for us.”
NOTES: West Virginia made its 11th NCAA Championship appearance and the first since being a No. 2- seed in 2014 … the Mountaineers made a school-record 10th appearance and has reached the postseason 12 times in 15 seasons under coach Mike Carey … West Virginia and Ohio State met for the 13th time in program history and for the second time in the NCAA Tournament … WVU is 9-11 all-time in NCAA Tournament games and is 7-9 under coach Carey … the Mountaineers are 16-1 this season when they score 70 or more points … WVU has recorded 30+ points from the bench in 21 contests this season … with 46 points from West Virginia’s bench, the Mountaineers have now scored 40 or more points from the bench in seven games this season … with 21 points, senior Bria Holmes became the third Mountaineer to reach the 2,000-point club … Holmes has produced 99 games scoring in doubles figures, which is third all-time at West Virginia … Holmes also tied Asya Bussie for the school record in games played with her 138th in today’s contest … with seven rebounds on the day, senior Arielle Roberson moved to second on WVU’s single season senior list with 108 offensive rebounds.
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