Duo Leads WVU to WNIT Win over Rider

Thursday, March 21

Morgantown, W.Va.

7 p.m.

West Virginia University

21-10

Rider

19-13

Rider

West Virginia

Photo by: Jennifer Shephard

March 21, 2019 09:57 PM | Women's Basketball

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By: Ashley Bailey

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Led by two double-double performances from senior guard/forward Naomi Davenport and freshman forward Kari Niblack, the West Virginia University women's basketball team captured an 83-43 win over Rider in the first round of the WNIT on Thursday evening at the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown.

The Mountaineers will host the winner of Friday's Old Dominion/Villanova game on Sunday in a 3 p.m. game at the Coliseum. Tickets will go on sale at WVUGAME.com and the Mountaineer Ticket Office on Friday at 9 a.m.

Davenport had a team-high 23 points and picked up her team-leading eighth double-double of the season. Niblack had a career-high 20 points – all in the second half – and added 13 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the year.

"In these kinds of tournaments, I was concerned coming out," coach Mike Carey. "(There was) a lot of hope to get in the NCAA, and you don't get in. (We came) out, and we came out flat. It seemed like it's set. When Kari came in, she brought energy, and she made everyone else play a little bit harder, because she played so hard."

Redshirt junior guard Tynice Martin was the third player in double figures with 23 points, adding eight rebounds as well.

Freshman guard Madisen Smith tallied a team-leading five assists, while sophomore guard Nia Staples and Davenport tied for the team lead in steals with two.

West Virginia finished with season-high 61 rebounds and shot 39.1 percent from the field and 71 percent at the free-throw line. The Mountaineers scored 23 second-chance points.

Davenport started the scoring on the fast break to give the Mountaineers a 2-0 lead in the opening minute as they held the Broncs without a field goal through the first 3:30 of action. After Rider drained a three with 6:17 to play, Martin struck back with back-to-back treys for an 8-3 WVU lead midway through the quarter.

Martin added another trey as junior guard Lucky Rudd and freshman forward Jala Jordan hit shots in the paint to put the WVU lead at 10 with 2:38 to go in the first. Martin added another jumper, capping the first with 11 points as West Virginia led Rider 19-11 after 10 minutes of action.

Rider scored seven straight to start the second quarter, cutting the Mountaineer lead to just one at 21-20 with 7:30 to go. Davenport, then Rudd, hit the free-throw line and went 4-for-4 before senior guard Katrina Pardee came up with a 3-pointer to push the lead to eight at 28-20 with 5:55 to go in the half.

Martin made another trip to the charity stripe, coming away with a pair of points before Davenport came up with a steal and a fast-break layup as West Virginia took a double-digit lead into the locker room at the half with the score at 34-24.

Niblack scored the Mountaineers' first seven points of the third quarter, putting them up 41-26 less than three minutes into the half. Davenport added a trey, and Niblack made two trips to the free-throw line, keeping the lead at 13 after a pair of treys by Rider. Niblack hit the layup and drained the ensuing free throw, putting West Virginia ahead by 16 at 49-33 with just under four to play in the frame.

Niblack added another shot in the paint before Davenport and Smith each hit the charity stripe as the Mountaineers made it a 21-point advantage with 90 seconds to play. The Broncs hit one more shot to end the quarter as WVU took a 55-36 lead into the fourth.

It was again Niblack in the fourth as she went 2-for-2 at the line before adding a jumper soon after. Davenport drained a 3-pointer, then added two points on the fast break for a 30-point WVU advantage at 68-38.

Martin helped add on to the Mountaineer lead by scoring a pair of buckets with under five minutes to go. The redshirt junior drained a trey, drew the foul and converted at the line with 2:43 left to tack on four more for WVU, as it coasted to a first-round victory.

Rider went 16-of-59 (27.1%) from the field and shot 4-of-27 (14.8%) from behind the arc. Guard Stella Johnson (18 points) and forward Lea Favre (12 points) both finished in double figures. Rider finished with four steals and five blocks as a team.