MORGANTOWN — Led by senior center Theresa Ekhelar’s double-double, the West Virginia women’s basketball team defeated Morgan State, 72-37, on Tuesday night at the WVU Coliseum.
Ekhelar had a career-high 15 rebounds, adding 11 points as well. It was the first double-double performance of her career.
Senior forward Naomi Davenport led the scoring with 16 points, shooting 7 of 10 in the game and adding seven rebounds and three blocks. Redshirt junior guard Tynice Martin had 11 points, while senior guard Katrina Pardee rounded out the players in double figures with 10 points.
The Mountaineers (7-2) shot 47.4 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from downtown, holding a 40-28 advantage on the glass.
“(It was a) tough game to play,” WVU coach Mike Carey said. “They just spread you out, took a lot of time off the shot clock, then tried to score. Congratulations to [senior center] Theresa, her first double-double. That was good to see.”
West Virginia started the game on a 9-0 run and never looked back, leading 37-11 at halftime.
WVU drained three straight triples to start with the third with a pair coming from Pardee and the last from Martin, pushing the lead to 33 points with 7:46 remaining. The teams traded points throughout the quarter, with a layup from Ekhelar putting the score at 54-24 with 2:34 to play in the third. The two freshmen finished out the frame, as both Smith and freshman forward Kari Niblack hit late jumpers as the Mountaineers led 58-24 after three quarters of play.
The Bears (1-11) shot 28.3 percent from the field and were led by Adre’onia Coleman’s 14 points.
