Box Score LUBBOCK, Texas
– The West Virginia University women's basketball team extends its win streak to seven games on Wednesday night, as the Mountaineers defeated Texas Tech, 73-53, at the United Supermarket Arena, in Lubbock, Texas.West Virginia has now won six consecutive Big 12 games for the first time since 2014.
WVU was led by four double-figure performances from redshirt senior guard
Kysre Gondrezick (24 points), sophomore forward
Esmery Martinez (16 points), junior guard
Jasmine Carson (12 points) and junior forward
Kari Niblack (10 points). Senior center
Blessing Ejiofor led the Mountaineers in rebounding with 10 boards.
Both teams traded baskets to open the first quarter, but the Mountaineers used a score from Niblack and a pair of free throws from Gondrezick to take a three-point lead. Texas Tech responded with a bucket of its own to cut WVU's advantage to one. Carson sank a 3-pointer just before the first media timeout to put West Virginia up by four.
Following the break, senior guard Lexi Gordon converted just outside the paint for the Lady Raiders, but Martinez answered with her own score on the other end. Both teams had chances to score for the remainder of the quarter, but West Virginia converted just one free throw over the final three minutes of the first, while Texas Tech scored off a putback to cut WVU's lead to three. The Mountaineers led 14-11 at the end of the first.
Texas Tech tied the game with a 3-pointer to begin the second quarter. West Virginia responded by jumping out to a 6-0 run over the next two minutes, forcing Tech to call a timeout.
TTU coach Krista Gerlich was issued a technical foul following a score by Martinez at the 5:54 mark of the second. Gondrezick went to the line and made both attempts at the charity stripe. The redshirt senior guard then converted her second triple of the game to put WVU up by 12.
The Lady Raiders attempted to chip away at the Mountaineers' advantage as the second quarter came to a close, but West Virginia converted five of its last seven field-goal attempts to end the half and took an 11-point lead into the locker room.
West Virginia continued to hold an 11-point advantage through the opening minutes of the second half. Texas Tech cut the Mountaineers' lead to eight points twice in the middle part of the quarter, but WVU responded each time TTU scored.
The Mountaineers stretched their lead back to 14 with 3:13 remaining in the period thanks to a pair of scores from Ejiofor and Niblack. WVU converted three more attempts to close out the third and take a 14-point lead with 10 minutes to play.
Carson hit a triple to begin the fourth quarter, and Martinez followed up with a score just outside the paint to stretch West Virginia's lead to 19 with 7:55 remaining in the game. The Mountaineers coasted the rest of the way to a 73-53 victory.
West Virginia shot 26-of-67 (38.8%) from the field and made six 3-pointers. WVU forced 16 Texas Tech turnovers in the game and scored 15 points off those chances. The Mountaineers also tallied eight steals in the win.
Texas Tech was led by senior guard Vivian Gray, who led the Lady Raiders in scoring with 18 points and 10 rebounds.
Next up, West Virginia travels to TCU on Saturday, Jan. 30. Tip-off against the Horned Frogs is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET, from Schollmaier Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. Saturday's game will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.
