MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Bria Holmes scored 27 points, Averee Fields added 20 and Lanay Montgomery became only the second WVU women’s player to block five shots in three straight games as No. 23 West Virginia crushed Duquesne 79-60 on Wednesday night.
West Virginia (7-1) led 40-32 halftime before a 10-0 run helped secure its 14th consecutive win at home, tied for the fifth longest streak in the nation.
Holmes made 13 baskets—three fewer than the entire Duquesne team—and has scored 25 or more points in four games this season. She added five steals, four assists and a block in 38 minutes.
April Robinson finished with 14 points for the Dukes (4-5), but scored only two after halftime, when she was guarded tightly by WVU point guard Linda Stepney.
“We came out a little slow in the first half and stood around,” said coach Mike Carey. “We were just shooting jump shots and weren’t attacking, and they came out attacking. I think I took a timeout there and said some nice things. I encouraged them to start playing harder. We came out and went on a 10-0 run. Those are things we have to do.”
Montgomery’s flurry of blocked shots tied the streak established by West Virginia Hall of Famer Georgeann Wells.
West Virginia, winners of five straight overall, shot 46.9 percent (30-of-64) from the field while Duquesne was limited to 32 percent.
The Mountaineers return to action on Saturday, Dec. 13 against IPFW (4-5) inside the WVU Coliseum.