WVU Rolls Past Pitt in Backyard Brawl

Saturday, December 8

Pittsburgh, PA

3:00 p.m.

West Virginia University

(5-2)

Pitt

(6-5)

West Virginia

Pitt

Photo by: Katie MacCrory

December 08, 2018 06:03 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score Season Stats

By: Ashley Bailey

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Redshirt junior guard Tynice Martin drained six 3-pointers on her way to 26 points as the West Virginia University women's basketball team downed rival Pitt, 77-43, on Saturday afternoon at Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh.

The Backyard Brawl triumph was the Mountaineers' second in two years and their fifth straight, dating back to 2011 when both teams were in the Big East. The 34-point win was WVU's largest margin of victory over Pitt in program history.

West Virginia (5-2) ended the day with three players in double figures. Martin led the way, going 6-of-8 from beyond the arc on her way to 26 points, while senior forward Naomi Davenport had 18 points. Redshirt sophomore guard Kysre Gondrezick hit a pair of 3-pointers as she totaled 11 points and eight assists on the day.

Freshman forward Kari Niblack just missed double figures with nine points and seven boards.

WVU shot 46.6 percent from the field and held a 36-33 advantage on the glass. The Mountaineers also forced the Panthers (6-5) into 28 turnovers.

The Mountaineers started the game on a 14-0 run, as back-to-back 3-pointers by Martin made it 14-0 in favor of West Virginia less than four minutes into the first quarter. Pitt hit a pair of free throws to get on the scoreboard with 5:49 to play in the first.

A 7-0 run by the Panthers cut the WVU lead to seven with two-and-a-half minutes to go in the quarter, but a jumper by Martin and a 3-pointer from Gondrezick put the WVU advantage back into double digits with less than a minute to play. The Panthers answered with a layup, but the Mountaineers led 21-11 to end the first.

Pitt was able to bring the deficit to single digits with a 3-pointer to start the second, but back-to-back buckets by Davenport brought the WVU lead back up to 11 at 25-14 with 7:42 to go in the half. Senior guard Katrina Pardee drained a three, but the Panthers hit back-to-back buckets in the paint to bring their deficit back into single digits at 29-22. Davenport responded with consecutive 3-pointers, and a jumper by Martin with less than 10 seconds to go gave the Mountaineers a 37-23 advantage at the half.

West Virginia came out of the locker room and headed straight into an 8-0 run to start the third, putting the lead at 45-23 when Martin scored a layup and hit the ensuing free throw. She added a triple soon after to put the Mountaineers' lead back up to 21 at 48-27 midway through the frame.

Consecutive points in the paint for Pitt cut the Panthers' deficit down to 17 with two-and-a-half to play. WVU responded with another 3-pointer from Martin and a pair of free throws by Pardee, taking a 53-31 lead at the end of the third.

Davenport hit a pair of jumpers before Martin drained yet another shot from beyond the arc to make it 60-34 with 6:47 to go in regulation. Gondrezick went 2-for-2 at the free-throw line, then scored on the fast break before Niblack hit a layup off a pass from Pardee to make it a 30-point advantage for WVU's largest lead of the day at 69-39.

Gondrezick jacked up a three to put her point total in double figures with about 90 seconds to go. Freshman forward Jala Jordan then hit the charity stripe for a pair, adding another free throw soon after. Smith scored on the fast break with 30 seconds to play and though Pitt responded with a layup, it was nowhere near enough as the Mountaineers claimed the 77-43 triumph.

Cara Judkins was the lone Panther to finish in double-figure scoring as the Panthers shot 30 percent from the field.

West Virginia travels to Charleston, West Virginia, for a rematch with Eastern Kentucky on Dec. 15. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. inside the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center.