ORLANDO, Fla. — The No. 22 West Virginia women’s basketball team earned its eighth win of the season Saturday afternoon, as the Mountaineers defeated No. 19 Michigan State 63-57 at Warden Arena.
Sophomore forward Kari Niblack led the Mountaineers (8-1) in scoring, as she posted a career-high 21 points. Redshirt junior guard Kysre Gondrezick (14 points) and redshirt senior guard Tynice Martin (11 points) also finished in double-figures for WVU. Niblack and redshirt freshman Rochelle Norris tied for the team lead in rebounding, with eight.
Niblack also tallied a career-high seven blocks in the victory over the Spartans (7-4). Her seven blocks marked the most blocks in a game since 2016, when Lanay Montgomery also recorded seven against Coppin State.
Niblack helped the Mountaineers take an early lead just fifteen seconds into the game, as she scored under the basket. The Spartans went on to score the next six points before Niblack struck again and converted on a three-point play to cut into Michigan State’s lead. Sophomore guard Madisen Smith tied it up at the 5:35 mark of the first by hitting a 3-pointer, before Niblack scored again to retake the lead before the first-quarter media timeout.
The Spartans retook the lead on a 5-0 scoring run, but Martin cut into the lead by converting on a pair of free throws. Freshman guard Kirsten Deans tied the game with a minute to go in the first, as she hit a step-back jumper from 3-point range. West Virginia and Michigan State headed to the second quarter tied at 15-15.
Michigan State struck first to open the second quarter by scoring five points early, but Gondrezick converted a pair of free throws and scored on a fast break to keep the game close. Martin then added a jumper from the top of the arc to cut the MSU lead to one, as WVU headed to the second media timeout.
MSU hit a pair of 3-pointers coming out of the timeout to take a 28-21 lead. Niblack then converted her second and-one of the game and move into double figures with 2:29 left in the first half to cut MSU’s lead to three points. Junior center Blessing Ejiofor scored at the rim to close out the second quarter, as the Mountaineers headed to the locker room at halftime trailing 30-27.
West Virginia came out firing to start the second half, as Gondrezick quickly hit a 3-pointer to tie the game. A free-throw by senior guard Lucky Rudd and another 3-pointer from Deans helped West Virginia take a 45-42 lead heading into the final quarter.
WVU opened the fourth quarter strong, as Niblack scored five points for the Mountaineers to keep the lead. A pair of Gondrezick free throws gave WVU a four-point lead heading into the last 20 seconds, before Martin also hit a pair with seven seconds left to seal the victory for the Mountaineers.
