Box Score MANHATTAN, Kan. – Powered by a pair of 20-point games by senior guard Madisen Smith and junior forward Esmery Martinez, the West Virginia University women's basketball team earned a 74-62, double-overtime win over Kansas State on Wednesday evening, inside Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan.
 
The win marks West Virginia's first double-overtime victory since March 28, 2005, vs. Kentucky (80-75).
 
Smith and Martinez tied for the team high with 22 points for West Virginia (14-13, 7-10 Big 12). Martinez also hauled in a season-high 19 rebounds in the win to net her ninth double-double of the season.
 
The Hato Mayor Del Ray, Dominican Republic, native now has 24 double-doubles in her career, which ties Teana Muldrow (2014-18) for No. 5 in all-time program history. Of note, Martinez is the first Mountaineer since Donna Abbott vs. Rutgers on Feb. 28, 1991, to tally at least 22 points and 19 rebounds in a single game.
 
Kansas State (18-11, 8-9 Big 12) was led by junior center Ayoka Lee, who tallied a 24-point, 10-rebound double-double.
 
West Virginia began the game on a 7-1 run, which included five points from Smith. Following a 4-0 scoring stretch, which started at the 5:28 mark of the first quarter, West Virginia found itself up by 10 after K-State called a timeout.
 
The two teams played even following the break, before fifth-year senior center Yemiyah Morris netted a couple scores around the 1:00 mark to put WVU up, 19-5. Kansas State sank a bucket at the buzzer to cut the Mountaineers' lead to 19-7 at the end of the first.
 
West Virginia's defense shined in the first quarter, holding K-State to 3-of-14 (21.4%) from the field and forcing six turnovers.
 
The Mountaineers went back-and-forth with the Wildcats to begin the second quarter, but KSU outscored WVU, 6-5, over the first four minutes of the frame. West Virginia led Kansas State, 24-11, with 5:59 to play in the first half.
 
Martinez scored following the break, but a pair of 3's from the Wildcats trimmed WVU's lead to nine points with four minutes to play in the half. On the other end, Smith sank her second triple of the game to put the Mountaineers up by double digits once again. K-State countered with seven unanswered points to cut West Virginia's lead to 29-24 with two minutes to go in the quarter.
 
K-State did not get any closer than that, as the Mountaineers went into the half with a 33-26 lead.
 
West Virginia outscored Kansas State, 5-2, to begin the third quarter, which included another 3 from Smith. However, the Wildcats countered with a 7-0 run to cut the game to 38-35 at the 5:24 mark, when the Mountaineers called a timeout.
 
Kansas State extended its run to 13-2 following the break to go up, 41-40, with 3:38 to play in the quarter. Smith countered with a pair of her own to retake the lead for WVU by three a minute later. West Virginia fell behind, 47-45, to end the period, as K-State outscored WVU, 6-1, over the final 2:29 of the third.
 
West Virginia fell behind by three over the opening minutes of the fourth quarter. The Mountaineers responded with a 3 from Martinez to tie with 6:20 to play and followed up with another score to lead, 54-52. KSU tied the game at 54-54 before the fourth-quarter media break.
 
The two teams played even for the remainder of regulation, as the game went to overtime tied at 54-54.
 
The Mountaineers scored first to take the lead to begin overtime. The two teams then traded turns with the lead for the next four minutes, before a K-State free throw put WVU behind, 59-58, with 45 seconds to go. KSU called a timeout, as West Virginia trailed by one with 31 seconds left to play in the first overtime.
 
The Wildcats went up 60-58 following a timeout, but Martinez would score on the ensuing possession to tie the game and force double overtime.
 
West Virginia opened the second overtime on a 10-2, which included a 3 by Martinez to put the Mountaineers up by eight with 2:17 to play. WVU then extended its lead to 71-62 with 59 seconds remaining. The Mountaineers tacked on three more free throws before it was all said and done to secure the double-overtime victory.
 
Next up, West Virginia returns to Morgantown on Saturday, March 5, to conclude the regular season against Iowa State. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. ET, inside the WVU Coliseum. Saturday's contest against the Cyclones will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.