CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Led by a 20-point performance from redshirt senior guard Tynice Martin, the No. 22 West Virginia women’s basketball team (7-1) defeated Norfolk State 72-55 on Sunday afternoon at the Charleston Coliseum & Convention Center.
The win marked Mike Carey’s 400th victory as the Mountaineers’ head coach. Carey is the program’s all-time leader in wins and now has 688 career wins.
“I just want to start out by saying that it was a very sloppy game,” Carey said. “We just never got in the flow of things. I’ll be honest with you, that’s how we practiced this week. (It was) sloppy. We have to learn from this. It’s good to get a win and get down here to Charleston. I wish we could have put more of a show on for the fans down here, but we were able to get the win. We have a day or two off, then we’re getting ready to head to Florida to play Michigan State and Syracuse. (Those are) two big games, so we’re looking forward to those games.”
Martin led all scorers with a season-high 22 points and was one of three Mountaineers to finish in double figures. With her 22 points against the Spartans, Martin now has 1,670 career points, good for No. 7 on WVU’s all-time scoring list.
Sophomore forward Kari Niblack finished with 14 points, while redshirt freshman center Rochelle Norris notched her second double-figure scoring performance of the season with 10 points. Niblack also hauled in a team-high 10 rebounds to notch back-to-back doubles.
After winning the opening tip, WVU jumped out to an early 9-2 lead, as Martin scored seven of the Mountaineers’ first nine. Niblack added another layup at the halfway point of the first, before junior center Blessing Ejiofor added a score at the 3:23 mark. Junior guard Arleighshya McElroy sank a jumper just before the quarter ended, as WVU headed to the second with a 15-7 lead.
The Mountaineers kept up the scoring barrage to open the second quarter, as Niblack added a layup and Martin drained a pair of 3-pointers. Ejiofor then scored under the basket, before redshirt junior guard Kysre Gondrezick scored in the lane to put WVU up by 13. Freshman guard Kirsten Deans added a coast-to-coast score and Niblack scored a pair of layups to close out the second quarter. West Virginia led Norfolk State by 14 at the half.
Niblack opened second-half scoring for the Mountaineers with a pair of free throws, before Martin tacked on her fourth 3-pointer of the game to give her 16 points.
Redshirt freshman center Rochelle Norris added two more free throws and Smith converted from 3-point range as the Mountaineers led by 13 heading into the third-quarter, media timeout. Norfolk State then scored six points to cut the lead to single digits, but the Mountaineers kept the Spartans at bay by adding a pair of jumpers from Martin and McElroy. Senior guard Lucky Rudd sank a pair of free throws as the third quarter came to a close and the Mountaineers headed to the final quarter of play with a 12-point lead.
McElroy converted on a three-point play to open the fourth quarter, while Norris scored with 7:30 to go to keep WVU’s lead at 13.
Smith drained a jumper in the paint, before Martin scored on a fast break to put her at 20 points in the game. Norris added three more layups down the stretch, as West Virginia rolled to its seventh win of the season.
The Mountaineers shot 26-of-56 (46.4 percent) from the field, including 5-of-17 (29.4 percent) from 3-point range. WVU held the advantage on the glass and out-rebounded NSU 42-31.
West Virginia also bested Norfolk State in points in the paint (38-30), second-chance points (15-5), fast-break points (13-8) and forced 15 turnovers.
