WVU Tops Radford, Wins 10th Straight

Saturday, December 16

Charleston, W.Va.

4:00 p.m.

West Virginia University

10-0, 0-0

Radford

4-4, 0-0

Radford

West Virginia

Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks

December 16, 2017 07:06 PM | Women's Basketball

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By: Ashley Bailey

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Junior guard Naomi Davenport scored a game-high 20 points as the No. 10/11 West Virginia University women's basketball team defeated Radford, 75-55, at the Charleston Civic Center on Saturday.

The Mountaineers (10-0) rolled to their tenth straight win on their annual trip to Charleston, marking the second consecutive season they have posted 10 straight victories to start the year.

Davenport, who hit eight shots from the field, was one of four starters in double figures, as senior forward Teana Muldrow collected her fifth double-double of the season with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Senior forward Kristina King and junior guard Katrina Pardee each put up 11 points on the day.

Senior guard Chania Ray finished with eight points, eight assists and seven rebounds. Freshman forward Destiny Harden matched her career high with eight points, while redshirt junior center Theresa Ekhelar had four in her career debut for the Mountaineers.

WVU shot 30-of-60 from the field for 50 percent, sinking five triples on the day. The Mountaineers held Radford to 32.1 percent shooting and held a 45-25 advantage on the glass in addition to outscoring the Highlanders 38-10 in the paint.

"I give Radford credit," WVU coach Mike Carey said. "They played harder than we did. I give them a lot of credit. We didn't play hard; for whatever reason, I don't know."

Davenport got things started with a steal, a layup and a 3-pointer in the opening minutes of play. King added a layup off a steal by Pardee, then went for another as the Mountaineers took a 9-3 lead to start the game.

Pardee sank a trey to make it a 14-5 WVU advantage midway through the first, before King added two more in the paint to make it 16-7 in favor of the Mountaineers with just under four minutes to play in the first quarter. A buzzer-beater from Muldrow put WVU on top 23-10 as the first quarter came to a close.

Davenport hit a jumper to open the second quarter, as Pardee followed with a triple. A 6-0 run by the Highlanders cut the WVU to lead to single digits at 28-19, but King hit a jumper to put the Mountaineers up by 11 once again midway through the period.

Ray grabbed the steal and made the fast break layup down the other end, pushing the WVU lead to 15 a 34-19. She later added a jumper to cap the half as the Mountaineers took a 12-point lead into the locker room at the half with the score at 37-25.

With King injured in the second half, Harden stepped into the lineup and picked up a pair at the free-throw line in the third. Muldrow the followed with a layup, drawing the foul and hitting the ensuing free-throw to push the West Virginia lead to 16 with a score of 43-27 with 6:47 to play in the third. Ray added two more at the charity stripe, and Ekhelar and Pardee combined for four points in the paint as the Mountaineers took a 51-38 lead into the fourth quarter.

The Mountaineers scored six straight in the paint for a 19-point advantage at the start of the final period. Ray yet again came up with the steal and the jumper, and a trey from Pardee kept the lead at 20 with 6:32 to play.

After a short Radford run, Davenport and Muldrow again scored in the paint as WVU kept a 19-point advantage. Harden picked up two more at the line before Davenport added another in the closing minute of play as the Mountaineers claimed the 75-55 victory.

West Virginia returns to Morgantown to host Morgan State on Monday in a 7 p.m. tip at the WVU Coliseum.

NOTES: With the win, the Mountaineers improved to 24-11 all-time in Charleston … WVU has won 11 of 12 games in the state capitol, dating back to 2008 … the win gave the Mountaineers a 10-0 mark on the season, marking the second consecutive season WVU has begun a season with a 10-0 record … Naomi Davenport scored a game-high 20 points … it was the second time this season she has recorded at least 20 points in a game … Teana Muldrow grabbed a season-high 13 boards against Radford … she has now secured a rebound in 83 straight games … Chania Ray dished out a game-high eight assists, marking the sixth time this season she has registered at least five assists in a game … redshirt junior Theresa Ekhelar saw her first game action of the season, scoring four and grabbing four rebounds.