MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (December 18, 2017) – Aided by a 31-0 run for a stretch in the first half, the No. 9/11 West Virginia University women’s basketball team made quick work of visiting Morgan State, taking down the Bears, 84-41, on Monday night at the WVU Coliseum.
WVU featured eight different scorers in the win, including senior forward Teana Muldrow, who finished with a game-high 25 points. The Mountaineers never trailed in the affair, claiming their 11th consecutive win to start the 2017-18 campaign.
“I thought down in Charleston, we didn’t play hard, to be honest with you, other than Chania Ray,” WVU coach Mike Carey said. “Here, we had some girls playing hard. They tried to slow the ball down a little bit and all that, and then when we got the big lead, we started making a lot of mistakes, especially when I started coming off the bench deeper. Overall, that’s fine. This is the game that we had to get through and needed to win and move on.”
West Virginia (11-0) made its first three shots from the field to start the night en route to grabbing a quick 6-0 lead. Muldrow scored two of the Mountaineers’ first three buckets in the period and finished with eight first-quarter points.
Later on, junior guard Katrina Pardee sank back-to-back 3-pointers to extend WVU’s lead to double figures at 18-4. The Mountaineers shot 7 of 10 in the first frame, while holding Morgan State (6-5) to just four first-quarter points and forcing six turnovers. The Bears made just two of their first 20 shots to begin the game as WVU led 19-4 after 10 minutes.
From there, WVU executed a mega-run to begin the second period, scoring the first 24 points of the quarter. Pardee stayed hot, making seven of her eight first-half attempts, including four 3s, to lead the all scorers with 18 at the break. Muldrow, who went 7 of 9 from the field in the first half, added 14 more.
Defensively, the Mountaineers held Morgan State scoreless in the second quarter until the 2:21 mark. By then, however, WVU had built a 36-point advantage. WVU went on to outscore the Bears 26-8 in the frame. Additionally, the Mountaineers forced 13 first-half turnovers before finishing with 25 on the night.
WVU shot a sizzling 69.2 percent as a team in the opening half and made all five of its attempts from downtown to take a 45-12 lead into the locker room.
In the second half, the Mountaineers maintained control, bumping their lead to as much as 45. Muldrow tallied nine points in the third quarter, while Pardee swish another triple to help lead the WVU offense. The Cedar Park, Texas, native finished with 21 points on the night, including five 5-pointers.
The Mountaineers took a 63-31 lead into the final period where they outscored Morgan State, 21-10, to seal the victory. Junior forward Naomi Davenport joined Muldrow and Pardee in double figures for West Virginia, chipping in with 12 points and adding seven rebounds and six assists.
Redshirt junior Theresa Ekhelar, who earned her first career start for WVU in the win, scored eight points and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.
WVU shot 30 of 55 (54.5%) for the game and registered 23 assists as a team. The Mountaineers, who earned 16 steals and sank eight 3s as a team, also won the rebounding category, 35-25.
Morgan State, which was led by Tykyrah Williams’ 20 points, finished 15 of 46 (32.6%) from the field.
The Mountaineers are back in action on Thursday night as the team closes nonconference play against Morehead State in a 7 p.m. ET tipoff at the WVU Coliseum. With a win, WVU will claim an undefeated nonconference mark at home for the 11th time in program history.
Notes: Following WVU’s win over Morgan State, the team moved to 1-1 all-time against the Bears … the two teams’ only other previous meeting came in 1979, an 80-78 Morgan State win … the Mountaineers improved to 19-1 against Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference opponents all-time, including 2-0 this season … WVU also topped Coppin State, 101-43, on Dec. 10 … WVU allowed just four first-quarter points to Morgan State, tying a program record for fewest allowed in one quarter … Katrina Pardee set a new career high in made field goals with eight … Teana Muldrow scored 20 or more points for the ninth time this season … Muldrow also matched a career high with three blocks and four steals … the Mountaineers allowed just 41 points, a new low for the 2017-18 season … Monday’s contest marked Theresa Ekhelar’s first career start for the Mountaineers … with the win, the Mountaineers extended their nonconference home win streak to 38 games.
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WVU featured eight different scorers in the win, including senior forward Teana Muldrow, who finished with a game-high 25 points. The Mountaineers never trailed in the affair, claiming their 11th consecutive win to start the 2017-18 campaign.
“I thought down in Charleston, we didn’t play hard, to be honest with you, other than Chania Ray,” WVU coach Mike Carey said. “Here, we had some girls playing hard. They tried to slow the ball down a little bit and all that, and then when we got the big lead, we started making a lot of mistakes, especially when I started coming off the bench deeper. Overall, that’s fine. This is the game that we had to get through and needed to win and move on.”
West Virginia (11-0) made its first three shots from the field to start the night en route to grabbing a quick 6-0 lead. Muldrow scored two of the Mountaineers’ first three buckets in the period and finished with eight first-quarter points.
Later on, junior guard Katrina Pardee sank back-to-back 3-pointers to extend WVU’s lead to double figures at 18-4. The Mountaineers shot 7 of 10 in the first frame, while holding Morgan State (6-5) to just four first-quarter points and forcing six turnovers. The Bears made just two of their first 20 shots to begin the game as WVU led 19-4 after 10 minutes.
From there, WVU executed a mega-run to begin the second period, scoring the first 24 points of the quarter. Pardee stayed hot, making seven of her eight first-half attempts, including four 3s, to lead the all scorers with 18 at the break. Muldrow, who went 7 of 9 from the field in the first half, added 14 more.
Defensively, the Mountaineers held Morgan State scoreless in the second quarter until the 2:21 mark. By then, however, WVU had built a 36-point advantage. WVU went on to outscore the Bears 26-8 in the frame. Additionally, the Mountaineers forced 13 first-half turnovers before finishing with 25 on the night.
WVU shot a sizzling 69.2 percent as a team in the opening half and made all five of its attempts from downtown to take a 45-12 lead into the locker room.
In the second half, the Mountaineers maintained control, bumping their lead to as much as 45. Muldrow tallied nine points in the third quarter, while Pardee swish another triple to help lead the WVU offense. The Cedar Park, Texas, native finished with 21 points on the night, including five 5-pointers.
The Mountaineers took a 63-31 lead into the final period where they outscored Morgan State, 21-10, to seal the victory. Junior forward Naomi Davenport joined Muldrow and Pardee in double figures for West Virginia, chipping in with 12 points and adding seven rebounds and six assists.
Redshirt junior Theresa Ekhelar, who earned her first career start for WVU in the win, scored eight points and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.
WVU shot 30 of 55 (54.5%) for the game and registered 23 assists as a team. The Mountaineers, who earned 16 steals and sank eight 3s as a team, also won the rebounding category, 35-25.
Morgan State, which was led by Tykyrah Williams’ 20 points, finished 15 of 46 (32.6%) from the field.
The Mountaineers are back in action on Thursday night as the team closes nonconference play against Morehead State in a 7 p.m. ET tipoff at the WVU Coliseum. With a win, WVU will claim an undefeated nonconference mark at home for the 11th time in program history.
Notes: Following WVU’s win over Morgan State, the team moved to 1-1 all-time against the Bears … the two teams’ only other previous meeting came in 1979, an 80-78 Morgan State win … the Mountaineers improved to 19-1 against Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference opponents all-time, including 2-0 this season … WVU also topped Coppin State, 101-43, on Dec. 10 … WVU allowed just four first-quarter points to Morgan State, tying a program record for fewest allowed in one quarter … Katrina Pardee set a new career high in made field goals with eight … Teana Muldrow scored 20 or more points for the ninth time this season … Muldrow also matched a career high with three blocks and four steals … the Mountaineers allowed just 41 points, a new low for the 2017-18 season … Monday’s contest marked Theresa Ekhelar’s first career start for the Mountaineers … with the win, the Mountaineers extended their nonconference home win streak to 38 games.
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