MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Despite losing senior shooting guard Katrina Pardee to an ankle injury, West Virginia picked up its first win in Big 12 women’s basketball play this year.
The Mountaineers (10-4, 1-2) beat Oklahoma State 67-58, closing the deal after Pardee was carried off the floor early in the fourth quarter. West Virginia was nursing a six-point lead when Pardee was injured coming down in the lane after scoring on a drive.
“We needed a win bad, and it was good to get it,” said Mountaineers coach Mike Carey. “Give them credit. The team that was in there was able to get a win.”
Pardee, who is one of the Mountaineers two main 3-point threats, had 14 points when she was injured. She recently eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for her career. She came back on crutches to watch the final minutes of the game on the Mountaineer bench.
Carey doesn’t know how long he’ll be without her, but with a depleted roster any amount of time is too long.
“If it’s even a high ankle sprain, it’s not good,” Carey said. “We’ll be down to eight players for a while.”
Guard Tynice Martin led the way for the Mountaineers with a game-high 21 points on 9-of-18 shooting. She made her way back into double figures after being held under 10 points for the first time in 20 games against Texas.
“We knew Martin was due to break out,” said Oklahoma State coach Jim Littrell.
The Mountaineers were 25-of-52 (48.1 percent) from the field as a team. Oklahoma State (10-4, 1-2) shot just 28.1 percent.
West Virginia was able to overcome 19 Cowgirl points off of turnovers by dominating the glass. The Mountaineers had a 45-33 rebounding advantage.