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WVU defeats Villanova in WNIT

MORGANTOWN — The West Virginia University women’s basketball team featured three players in double figures as the Mountaineers took down Villanova, 64-57, in the second round of the WNIT Sunday afternoon at the WVU Coliseum.

Senior guard/forward Naomi Davenport scored a game-high 25 points and added eight rebounds, while redshirt junior guard Tynice Martin tallied 23 points and nine rebounds to lead the Mountaineers. Freshman forward Kari Niblack also chipped in with 13 points and grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds for her fifth career double-double.

“Kari’s a player,” WVU coach Mike Carey said following the game. “Kari, like I said, if she can stay out of foul trouble, she’s going to put up a double-double up every game. I think she’s a double-double machine, I really do. She plays that hard and that aggressively. Today, she stayed out of foul trouble and had another double-double.”

The trio combined to score all but three of the Mountaineers’ points in the win.

West Virginia was forced to overcome multiple comeback attempts by Villanova, but it buckled in down the stretch to preserve the victory.

The Mountaineers closed the third period on a 9-0 run, taking a 48-38 lead into the final frame.

Much like the start of the third quarter, the Wildcats began the fourth in a big way. Villanova made three treys to begin the quarter, getting it to 50-47 with 8:15 to go in the game. The Wildcats even cut it to one again off a fast-break layup with 5:36 to go.

Then, Martin registered five straight points, including a three-point play to make it 57-51 with 4:30 remaining. The Atlanta native scored 15 of her 23 points in the second half.

The two teams continued to go back and forth down the stretch. Up five with 51 seconds to go, Niblack cleaned up and offensive rebound and scored on the low block to help the Mountaineers take a 63-56 lead and eventually reach the finish line.

WVU finished 22-of-60 (36.7 percent) from the field and outrebounded the Wildcats, 41-33. The Mountaineers also held a 17-10 edge in points off turnovers and a 20-14 margin in points in the paint.

West Virginia advances to the third round of the WNIT and will host Northwestern at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.

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