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WVU Holds Off K-State, Advances to Semis
March 06, 2016 12:56 AM | Women's Basketball
OKLAHOMA CITY - Big 12 Freshman of the Year Tynice Martin led the No. 3-seed West Virginia University women’s basketball team with 20 points, as the Mountaineers pulled away in the second half to defeat No. 6-seed Kansas State, 74-65, on Saturday evening in the quarterfinal round of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship played at the Chesapeake Energy Arena.
There were seven ties and 16 lead changes in Saturday’s contest. A Chania Ray layup with 26 seconds remaining gave No. 22 ranked West Virginia (24-8) a 33-32 halftime advantage. K-State’s Kindred Wesemann hit a trey to put the Wildcats up by two with 5:51 remaining in the third. Martin scored a jumper to tie the game and converted a Bria Holmes steal into a layup to give West Virginia the go-ahead 43-41 lead. The Wildcats (18-12) closed the third period to a five-point gap.
However, WVU used an 8-2 run in the next four minutes to push its lead to double-figures. K-State trimmed the game to five points again with less than four minutes remaining, but Martin hit a free throw and Holmes connected on a jumper to help West Virginia advance to the semifinal round for the 16th time overall in a conference tournament and the second since joining the Big 12 Conference.
The Mountaineers face No. 2-seed Texas on Sunday, March 6, in a 5 p.m. ET/4 p.m. CT tipoff. The game will be televised nationally on FS1. Sunday’s winner will face the winner of the No. 1-seed Baylor vs. No. 5-seed Oklahoma contest in the final on Monday, March 7.
Martin’s 20 points matched a season-high, while her eight made field goals tied three others for most in a WVU Big 12 Championship game. Jessica Morton contributed with 16 points and tied a season-high five rebounds. Bria Holmes netted 10 points and five boards in the victory. Teana Muldrow just missed a double-double, scoring nine points and grabbing nine rebounds.
“First, I thought both teams played hard,” said coach Mike Carey. “I thought the first half we struggled to score and struggled to do what we do defensively, but we were able to hang in there and keep it close the first half. Then the second half there was a 5-minute span where we got our defense going a little bit and built the lead up to double figures. Give Kansas State a lot of credit, but our girls deserve a lot of credit, too.”
Offensively, WVU shot 47.5 percent (28-of-59) from the field compared to K-State’s 43.1 percent (22-of-51). The Mountaineers won the rebound battle, 35-28, and outscored the Wildcats on the bench 47-10. WVU dished out 14 assists, collected nine steals and blocked five shots. Megan Deines led the Wildcats with 22 points, while Kindred Wesemann inked a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
The opening half went back-and-forth as there were five ties and 10 lead changes. The Mountaineers took a brief 10-6 lead through the first six minutes of action. However, K-State used back-to-back treys from Deines and Wesemann to take a 12-10 edge. A Jessica Sheble bucket extended K-State’s lead to four. WVU closed the period on an 8-3 run to take an 18-17 edge.
Muldrow’s three-pointer extended the Mountaineers’ lead back to three with 7:10 remaining in the second quarter. The Wildcats then sprinted out to a seven-point run. Holmes snapped the scoring skid with a jumper and on the next possession she found Martin with a no-look assist to tie the game. Again, the Wildcats pushed their lead back to 32-29. However, WVU ended the half with buckets from Martin and Ray to take a 33-32 halftime edge.
In the first half, K-State shot 52.0 percent (13-of-25) compared to 41.9 percent (13-of-31) for the Mountaineers. WVU was outscored 18-12 in the paint, but outrebounded K-State 18-13. Martin led West Virginia with 10 points, while Deines paced the Wildcats with 10.
There were seven more ties and six more lead changes in the third quarter. The Mountaineers used a Holmes steal from the baseline and converted with a Martin score to give WVU a 43-41 lead. The Mountaineers then stretched their advantage to seven with less than three minutes remaining in the period. WVU led 54-49 at the end of three, outscoring K-State, 21-17.
In the fourth quarter, WVU utilized an early 8-2 run to extend the lead to 11 points. After WVU extended its lead to 11, the Wildcats chipped away with six made consecutive free throws. Holmes’ jumper stopped the Wildcat spurt and pushed WVU’s edge back to seven. K-State would get the game to five with less than four minutes remaining, but a free throw from Martin and a Holmes jumper sealed the victory.
West Virginia advances to a conference tournament semifinal for the 16th time overall and seventh under Carey. No. 3-seed WVU plays No. 2-seed Texas on Sunday, March 6. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. ET/4 p.m. CT on FS1 inside the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City.
NOTES: WVU owns an 8-1 advantage in the all-time series over K-State … WVU is 3-2 overall in conference tournaments as a No. 3 seed … the Mountaineers are now 4-3 in Big 12 Championship games … West Virginia is 16-14 all-time in conference tournament action under coach Mike Carey … WVU owns a 2-2 mark in the Big 12 Championship quarterfinal round ... WVU advances to the semifinal round of a conference tournament for the 16th time as a program and the seventh time under Carey … WVU last appeared in a semifinal in 2014 and defeated Texas, 67-60, to advance to the Big 12 Championship final … WVU’s win tonight marked the sixth time that Carey’s teams have recorded 24 or more wins … WVU is 24-2 when leading at halftime … the Mountaineers are 23-2 when scoring 60 or more points this season … WVU is 15-0 with a score of 70 points or more … WVU is 21-1 when outrebounding its opponent … Bria Holmes’ 1,946 points are the most among active Big 12 players … she is 54 points away from becoming the third Mountaineer to reach the 2,000-point club … Tynice Martin lead WVU and matched a season high with 20 points, followed by 16 points by Jessica Morton … Martin tied three others with most made field goals (8) in a Big 12 Championship game … Morton tied a season-high with five rebounds … tonight marked the first time West Virginia and K-State met in the conference tournament.
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