MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Bria Holmes scored 12 of her 18 points during a third-quarter stretch when West Virginia separated from Texas Tech for a 79-57 win Saturday night at the WVU Coliseum.
Tynice Martin scored 15 and Jessica Morton added 14 in strong reserve roles for the Mountaineers (14-3, 3-1 Big 12), who provided coach Mike Carey’s 599th career victory while holding the Lady Raiders (9-6, 0-4) to 31-percent shooting.
WVU outscored Texas Tech 15-6 in the second quarter to lead 36-23 at the half, before putting away the game in the third period when Holmes single-handedly outscored the visitors to extend a 56-32 cushion.
Holmes made 7-of-11 from the field for her 16th consecutive double-digit scoring effort and Martin dished out a game-high five assists, grabbed five rebounds, collected two steals and blocked a shot in 27 minutes. Morton knocked down 5-of-7 shot attempts, and Arielle Roberson eclipsed double-digit rebounds for the third time this season, grabbing 11.
The Mountaineers overcame 16 turnovers and allowing 25 Texas Tech offensive rebounds thanks to a bench matched a season-high with 42 points, setting up Tuesday’s game at No. 6 Baylor.
“I thought we played hard in the second and third quarters,” said Carey. “When we had the lead, we started turning it over and not playing defense. Once again, we gave up way too many offensive rebounds. When we do that on Tuesday against Baylor, we’re in trouble.”
Ivonne CookTaylor paced the Lady Raiders with 20 points, a rare offensive bright spot for coach Candi Whitaker.
“West Virginia’s a tough team. We came in here and we obviously didn’t shoot the ball very well. They had something to do with that, and that’s on us as well. They’re athletic. They blocked some shots, and they took some away that we had either in the half or in transition. When you’re (shooting) 31 percent you’re probably going to struggle to win Big 12 games.”
Holmes needs 28 points to pass Kate Bulger (1,733) for fourth all-time on WVU’s career scoring list.