MORGANTOWN — The No. 22-ranked WVU women’s basketball team officially opened its season with an 86-33 win over Saint Francis (Pa.) on Tuesday at the WVU Coliseum.
West Virginia (1-0, 0-0 Big 12) dominated Saint Francis (0-3, 0-0 NEC) from start to finish in a game that saw the Mountaineers hold the advantage for 39:26 and lead by as many as 54 points. WVU scored 52 of its 86 points in the paint and shot 55.6% from the floor in the game. SFU’s 33 points were the fewest allowed by West Virginia since Kansas State (30) on Jan. 26, 2019.
With the win, the Mountaineers improved to 18-3 in season openers under coach Mike Carey.
Junior forward Esmery Martinez led the way for West Virginia in both scoring and rebounding, with 19 points and seven rebounds. The Hato Mayor Del Ray, Dominican Republic, native also shot a team-best 9 of 14 (64.3%) from the field in 24 minutes played. Additionally, junior guard KK Deans (18 points), fifth-year senior center Yemiyah Morris (12 points), senior forward Kari Niblack (10 points) and freshman guard JJ Quinerly (10 points) each finished the game in double figures.
“First game. We only ended up shooting five 3s,” Carey said. “That team sagged all of them, and we were open all night on 3s. So, we showed a lot of discipline, and I have settled for 3s. We had a bunch of turnovers, 15 turnovers, and I think half of them were right there in the last quarter. We have to take care of the ball better. We forced it, but first, I was pleased. I was pleased with our effort and execution. As we know, (in) the first game you have to get a lot better, but for the first game, I was very pleased with our effort. We play again Friday, and we play again Sunday, so it was good. Everybody got to play, and everybody played a bunch of minutes. We have to get better this next game.”
After corralling the opening tip, West Virginia began the game on a 14-0 run, which began with and-1 conversion from Martinez. Saint Francis made a free throw with 4:10 remaining in the quarter, but that did not stop the Mountaineers’ onslaught. WVU tacked on nine more points following the SFU tally to take a 20-point lead over the Red Flash with 2:15 left in the first. West Virginia finished the quarter with 27 points and held a 19-point lead over Saint Francis.
Martinez finished the frame with seven points and five rebounds, while Deans tallied a team-high four steals in the quarter.
The Mountaineers continued to hold a lead of 20-plus points through the opening minutes of the second quarter. WVU stretched its advantage 27 points with an 8-0 run that began with 6:43 remaining in the half. Saint Francis scored on a fast break and added a 3-pointer to try cut into the lead, but six more points from West Virginia, including a last-second bucket from Martinez, kept the Mountaineers out in front by 28 at the break.
Senior guard Madisen Smith dished out three assists in the second quarter, while Martinez netted a team-high 13 points in the first half. After scoring six points in the first, Niblack tacked on four more to her total in the second quarter to get into double figures.
WVU did not take its foot off the gas in the second half, as Deans opened the third quarter with a pair of makes from behind the arc. The Mountaineers would go on to stretch its lead to 35 with 5:40 remaining in the quarter, with West Virginia’s first 12 points of the frame coming from Deans and Martinez. WVU went on to score 12 more points to close out the fourth and held SFU scoreless from the 6:05 mark on.
Going into the final 10 minutes of the contest, WVU saw five players already with 10 or more points in the game.
With the game already decided, West Virginia opened the fourth quarter by stretching its lead to 54 points, its largest of the game. SFU netted three scores down the stretch, but WVU scored a pair of its own and coasted to its first win of the season.
West Virginia continues its three-game homestand on Friday when the Mountaineers play host to Kennesaw State at the Coliseum. Tipoff against the Owls is scheduled for noon.
