WVU Tops Kansas for Fourth Straight Win

Sunday, February 3

Morgantown, W.Va.

3:00 p.m.

West Virginia University

16-5 (7-3)

Kansas

12-8 (2-7)

Kansas

West Virginia

Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks

February 03, 2019 06:14 PM | Women's Basketball

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By: Joe Mitchin

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University women's basketball team finished with three players in double figures in a 71-50 win over Kansas on Sunday afternoon at the WVU Coliseum.

Redshirt junior guard Tynice Martin tallied a game-high 22 points, five rebounds and two assists, while senior guard/forward Naomi Davenport and junior guard Lucky Rudd added 16 and 13 points, respectively.

The Mountaineers nearly led wire-to-wire in their fourth win in a row and seventh in their last eight games.

"It's a big win for us at home," coach Mike Carey said. "We have to win our home games. Without a doubt, we have to win our home games and try to steal a couple on the road.

Rudd opened the scoring with an easy layup to get the Mountaineers (16-5, 6-3) started on a positive note. Two more buckets on the low block by Davenport and senior center Theresa Ekhelar made it 6-4 WVU early

Rudd got a mid-range jumper to fall at the 4:34 mark of the opening period, before West Virginia embarked on a 15-2 run. Martin capped it off with a 3-pointer to make it 21-8 Mountaineers.

WVU went on to lead, 25-13, after 10 minutes.

Then, Kansas (12-8, 2-7) got going. The Jayhawks scored 10 of the first 12 points of the second period, cutting the WVU lead to just 27-23. A jumper by Martin with 4:06 to play before the half helped the Mountaineers bump the lead back up to 31-24, which was followed by a 3 by freshman guard Madisen Smith.

Martin added a layup with under a minute to play, giving WVU a 36-29 halftime advantage.

The Atlanta, Georgia, native went on to score five of WVU's first seven points in the second half, helping the Mountaineers extend their lead to double figures. Later on, Davenport scored on a layup at the 5:17 mark of the third period, before Rudd hit a 3 and Martin swished another jump shot. That allowed West Virginia to take a 52-37 advantage, its largest of the game at the time.

At the 1:29 mark, Davenport scored in the paint for WVU's final third-period basket, as the Mountaineers entered the final frame with a 56-44 lead.

Rudd hit her second triple of the afternoon to begin the fourth period, which led to buckets by Martin and freshman forward Kari Niblack. From there, the Mountaineer defense put the finishing touches on the win, denying the Jayhawks from a made field goal for the final 3:45. Kansas registered just six fourth-period periods.

WVU shot 22-of-47 (46.8%) as a team in the win, including 23-of-31 (74.2%) from the free-throw line. The Mountaineers also dominated on the glass, outrebounding KU, 42-24.

Kansas, which was led by Austin Richardson's 10 points, finished 16-of-50 (32%) from the field. The Jayhawks made just six field goals after halftime and committed 16 turnovers.

Up next, the Mountaineers travel to Ames, Iowa, for a rematch at Iowa State on Saturday, Feb. 9. WVU topped the then-No. 18 Cyclones, 73-64, on Jan. 16.

Notes: With Sunday's win, WVU improved to 11-4 all-time against Kansas, including 6-2 in Morgantown … the Mountaineers have now won eight consecutive games against the Jayhawks, dating back to 2015 … West Virginia has now won four consecutive regular-season Big 12 games for the first time since the 2013-14 campaign … redshirt junior guard Tynice Martin recorded her 24th career 20-plus game, including her ninth this season … Martin also led WVU in scoring for the 11th time this year.