West Virginia women pull away from Texas Tech 59-40

Mar 6, 2015, 11:47 pm

DALLAS -- Bria Holmes scored 21 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, to lead seventh-seeded West Virginia to a 59-40 win over No. 10 seed Texas Tech in the opening round of the Big 12 Conference tournament Friday night.

Averee Fields added 13 points and Teana Muldrow pulled down eight rebounds for West Virginia (18-13), which shot 42 percent from the field on 50 attempts and controlled the boards 42-30.

Leading by just three at the break, the Mountaineers broke it open with a 17-2 run early in the second half that included both of Holmes' 3-pointers to take a 44-29 lead. Linda Stepney's layup with 2:30 left gave West Virginia its largest lead of the game, 57-37, and the Mountaineers coasted to the finish.

Ivonne Cook-Taylor led Texas Tech (15-16) with 20 points, including three 3-pointers, and Amber Battle added 11 points.

West Virginia plays No. 2 seed Oklahoma on Saturday.