Box Score LUBBOCK, Texas – Led by four double-figure performances, the West Virginia University women's basketball team downed Texas Tech, 73-62, on Wednesday evening, inside United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock.
 
Senior guard Madisen Smith scored a team-high 21 points and played all 40 minutes in the game. She was joined in double figures by junior forward Esmery Martinez (13), freshman JJ Quinerly (13) and fifth-year senior center Yemiyah Morris (12). Martinez also hauled in a team-high eight rebounds in the victory.
 
Quinerly gave WVU the early lead in the game following tipoff, but TTU quickly countered to tie the game. Following a 3-pointer by Tech, the Mountaineers rattled off a 10-0 run over the next two minutes, which included a pair of 3's, to take a 12-5 lead with six minutes to play in the opening quarter.
 
After Texas Tech called a timeout, WVU stretched its lead to nine. The Lady Raiders countered with a 7-0 run to trim the Mountaineers' lead to 14-10 just before the three-minute mark of the first. On the other end, West Virginia countered with five unanswered points to get its lead back to nine. The two teams traded scores for the remainder of the period, as WVU led TTU, 23-14, heading into the second frame.
 
The Mountaineers began the second quarter on a 5-0 run to stretch their margin to 15 points. The Lady Raiders countered with four of their own, but another scoring stretch by WVU made it a 35-18 game at the media break.
 
Following a 3-pointer by Texas Tech, West Virginia put up four points on its end of the court to stretch the lead to 18 points. TTU converted an and-1 with under a minute to go in the second cut back into WVU's advantage. The Mountaineers led the Lady Raiders, 39-24, at the half.
 
West Virginia and Texas Tech played nearly even over the opening minutes of the second half, and WVU outscored TTU, 7-5, during that stretch. A 3-pointer by Smith made the difference to begin the third quarter and gave the Mountaineers a 46-29 lead at the media timeout.
 
The Lady Raiders outscored WVU, 10-9, out of the break, but West Virginia continued to hold a lead of 16 points over the final four minutes of the quarter. A triple by TTU's Rhyle McKinney cut the Mountaineers' lead to 13 with 28 seconds to go in the period, and WVU took a 55-42 lead over TTU into the fourth quarter.
 
Following a score by fifth-year senior forward Ari Gray, Tech called a quick timeout to begin the final period.
 
Quinerly scored out of the break, but the Lady Raiders countered with 12 unanswered points to cut WVU's lead to five points. The Mountaineers called a timeout with 4:56 remaining in the quarter, when they led by a score of 59-54.
 
After Texas Tech stretched its run to 14-0 and cut the game to two points, West Virginia countered with six points to stretch its lead to nine points with three minutes to play. Tech then added four more tallies at the stripe to make it a 65-60 game with just over two minutes remaining in the game.
 
WVU countered the free throws with four points of its own to hold a nine-point lead with a minute to play. Following another TTU tally, the Mountaineers added four more at the stripe to create the separation they needed to secure the win.
 
West Virginia finished the game shooting 27-of-57 (47.4%) from the floor and made nine 3-pointers. WVU also assisted on 17 of its 27 makes and made 10 free throws. Defensively, the Mountaineers forced 23 turnovers, 10 of which were steals, and blocked five shots.
 
Next up, West Virginia returns to Morgantown on Sunday, Feb. 27, to square off against Oklahoma State. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET, inside the WVU Coliseum. Sunday's contest against the Cowgirls will be broadcast nationally on ESPNU, with Brenda VanLengen and Holly Warlick on the call.