MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Sometimes the box score can be the biggest liar in basketball.
It was Sunday, as the West Virginia women’s team recorded its first-ever win against Tennessee with a 79-73 overtime victory inside the WVU Coliseum.
“They’re a name and have been one of the most successful (programs) in the NCAA,” WVU head coach Mike Carey said. Former Tennessee head coach Pat Summitt, “we all know what she did. They’re a great school and they have a great women’s basketball program, but we felt great coming into this game.”
WVU is now 1-6 all-time against the Volunteers (2-1), who own eight national championships.
The stats of the game will tell you WVU guard Kysre Gondrezick was the star, after the senior scored a career-high 27 points to go along with five assists and five steals.
Make no mistake, Gondrezick was nearly unstoppable with 11 of her team’s 17 points by the end of the first quarter.
She connected on three 3-pointers, with her final coming with 6:20 left in regulation that gave WVU (4-0) a 61-56 advantage.
Tennessee buckled down on defense from there and this is the story the box score does not tell.
WVU went scoreless for the next 5:25, and it wasn’t until Madisen Smith stepped up and canned a 3-pointer with 55 seconds left that the Mountaineers got out of their funk.
Minutes later, now in overtime, it was Smith again knocking down a 3-pointer that gave WVU a 71-68 lead and the Mountaineers never trailed again.
“She proved herself tonight,” Gondrezick said of Smith. “Her performance at point guard, her efficiency, and the way she plays game in and game out is something we need. She’s a leader on the floor and I’m proud of her.”
A year ago, Smith was stuck in a sophomore slump, shooting only 31% from the field and 28% from behind the arc.
Had this type of game been played last season, Smith may not have had the confidence to take those crucial shots.
“I think she did take them,” Carey joked.
She took them again against the Volunteers. This time they rang true, even though the 3-pointer in overtime did bounce high off the side of the rim before falling in.
“She sort of rattled that one in,” Gondrezick said.
“I thought it was off,” Smith added. “I even said it was off and then it pops in.”
Smith finished with 16 points and six assists and recorded just one turnover in 44 minutes.
A year after a horrid shooting slump, Smith is now shooting an amazing 53% (9 of 17) from 3-point range on the season.
“I was just praying that Kysre would be able to find me,” Smith continued. “She believed I could knock down that shot and I was glad I could do that for my team.”
The Mountaineers led by as much as seven with 3:01 left in the third quarter, but the play of Rae Burrell (18 points) and Jordan Horston (13 points, five rebounds and five assists) got the Volunteers back into the game.
Tennessee dominated the glass, holding a 56-34 advantage in rebounds and had 23 second-chance points.
“I told them going into overtime that it was all about heart,” Carey said. “Our girls have a lot of heart. Our girls are not going to quit playing. They were going to give everything they had, so I felt very good going into overtime.”
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