MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – In its annual, 'Haunted Hoops' exhibition, the No. 19-ranked West Virginia University women's basketball team defeated WVU Tech, 113-33, on Thursday evening at the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown.
 
Four Mountaineers finished in double-figure scoring in the win, including senior guard Jasmine Carson, who tallied a team-best 25 points. Fifth-year forward Ari Gray and fifth-year center Blessing Ejiofor tied for the team lead in rebounding with six boards apiece.
 
West Virginia jumped out to an early lead that they continued to build until the end of the game and held WVU Tech to less than 10 points in three of four quarters. The Mountaineers led by as many as 80 and never trailed in the game.
 
Following a slow start to the game, West Virginia started to heat up following a 3-3 tie with 7:05 remaining in the first quarter. Carson got WVU's offense rolling with four scores, including a pair of 3-pointers, that helped push the Mountaineers' advantage to 11 points with three minutes to go in the opening frame. The two teams then exchanged scores at the free-throw line and Tech's Brittney Justice converted a long 2 in the final minute, but WVU continued to hold a double-digit lead at the end of the quarter.
 
Second-quarter action turned out to be all West Virginia, as the Mountaineers ripped out to 23-0 run to begin the period. Carson and fifth-year center Yemiyah Morris each collected six points during West Virginia's scoring stretch, before WVU Tech countered with a score from Eugenia Marcelli with just over three minutes remaining in the half. The Golden Bears cut the Mountaineers' lead back down to 28 points with 1:12 to go in the second, but West Virginia scored six points over the final 46 seconds of the half to lead by 34 at the midway point.
 
WVU kept firing on all cylinders to begin the third quarter and jumped out to a 56-20 lead at the 6:51 mark. Junior forward Esmery Martinez led the way to open the quarter by tallying six points. A pair of triples from Carson along with a score in the paint from Ejiofor put the Mountaineers up by 41 two minutes later. Tech tried its best to chip away at the Mountaineers' advantage, but WVU continued to produce on its own end of the court and held a 78-26 lead at the end of the third quarter.
 
With the contest already having been decided, the Mountaineers opened the fourth quarter on a 7-0 run that helped stretch the lead to 59. West Virginia continued to score throughout the last 10 minutes and held WVU Tech to seven points in the final frame to secure the win. Sophomore guard Savannah Samuel contributed a team-best eight points in the fourth quarter, while freshman guard JJ Quinerly, Gray and Morris chipped in six points apiece. Of note, freshman guard Wynter Rogers' layup with 3:33 remaining in the game pushed West Virginia over the 100-point threshold.
 
West Virginia finished the game shooting 44-of-80 (55%) from the field, including 9-of-23 (39.1%) from 3-point range. Defensively, the Mountaineers held the Golden Bears to 9-of-33 (27.3%) from the floor and forced 47 turnovers. WVU also tallied 34 steals and eight blocks in the victory.
 
WVU Tech was led by Justice, who tallied a team-high seven points in the game. Guard/forward Alyssa Taylor paced the Golden Bears on the glass with four rebounds.
 
West Virginia officially opens the 2021-22 campaign on Tuesday, Nov. 16, when the team welcomes Saint Francis (Pa.) to Morgantown for the season opener. Tipoff against the Red Flash is set for 7 p.m. ET.