MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The combination of Lanay Montgomery and Tynice Martin helped No. 17 West Virginia avoid a three-game losing streak by staving off No. 20 Oklahoma’s comeback attempt, 83-73, on Sunday at the WVU Coliseum.
The Mountaineers (14-2, 2-2) squandered most of a 17-point halftime edge as the Sooners (12-4, 3-1) pulled within 55-50 in the fourth quarter. But Teana Muldrow’s steal led to an and-one layup before another steal by Montgomery led to another layup and a 10-point edge.
Martin netted her first career double-double with 18 points and a career-high 11 rebounds for West Virginia, which beat a ranked team for the first time this season.
Montgomery enjoyed a massive game with 16 points, 14 rebounds, four blocked shots and four steals in the victory — just the fourth Mountaineer to record that stat line.
“We didn’t have answer for Montgomery tonight, we really didn’t,” said Oklahoma Assistant Coach Chad Thrailkill. “She did some things that she hasn’t done against us in the past and just one of those things, we had a hard time moving her off the block and getting her to catch where we wanted her to catch it.”
Muldrow added 11 points and five rebounds in limited minutes due to foul trouble.
Returning for action for the first time since suffering a knee injury against Mount St. Mary’s on Dec. 21, Alexis Brewer made 6-of-10 from the field for 15 points. Katrina Pardee finished with 10 points. Chania Ray dished out a game-high 10 assists.
“We needed to get a win,” coach Mike Carey said. “I thought we got a little tired in the second half and that’s why we got into foul trouble, because we got tired. We were able to pull out the win, so that was a big win. I thought Lanay Montgomery played well. Teana played well when she was in there. Tynice played well.
“Alexis Brewer, boy was it nice to have her back this game. It really makes a big difference when you have someone to put in when someone isn’t playing well, so at least we had Alexis to go in and play well off the bench, which made a big difference today.”
West Virginia shot 52.5 percent from the field and held Oklahoma to 40.3 percent (27-of-67) shooting. The Mountaineers were 10-of-21 from 3-point range and won the rebound battle 41-33.
Peyton Little scored 17 for the Sooners while Gabbi Ortiz finished with 15.