No. 10 West Virginia women cruise past Coppin State 101-43
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) - After three Power 5 games, there wasn't much for No. 10 West Virginia to learn on Sunday.
Coach Mike Carey was less than pleased with the some of his players' habits as the Mountaineers cruised to victory over Coppin State, 101-43.
"Tough game to play," Carey said. "I hate these kind of games. Nothing against them (Coppin State), but we don't get much out of it. We formed a lot of bad habits instead of good habits. I hate these types of games, but we did what we had to do to get the win and we won."
West Virginia (9-0) is off to its second straight season with nine season-opening wins. The latest win marks the first time since the 1984-85 season that the program has scored 100 or more points three times in a season.
After both teams traded shots to begin the game, WVU went on a 24-2 run to bury the Eagles (1-9) in the first quarter.
Genesis Lucas scored 10 of her 15 points in the second quarter, but the Eagles had no answer for the Mountaineers defensively, going into the locker room down 56-26 at halftime.
WVU held the Eagles to 17 points in the second half to secure the victory.
Katrina Pardee led West Virginia with a career-high 25 points, Teana Muldrow added 22 and Naomi Davenport had 15 points and seven rebounds.
Mountaineer freshman Krystaline McCune scored 12 points in her first game in double figures.
"Kris McCune came in and played hard," Pardee said. "She was ready to play."
Chance Graham had 10 points and seven rebounds for Coppin State.
"West Virginia has a fantastic basketball team; they're very good," Eagles coach Dewayne Burroughs said. "I could see them making a run long into March and April."
BIG PICTURE
Coppin State concludes its nonconference schedule with games against VCU and Maryland before starting MEAC play with winnable games against Norfolk State, Savannah State and Florida A&M before its spring semester.
After three straight wins over Power 5 opponents Virginia Tech, then-No. 18 Texas A&M and Pittsburgh, WVU plays three more mid-major teams (Radford, Morgan State and Morehead State) before beginning Big 12 play.
TRANSFER OF POWER
West Virginia will gain one more eligible player for its Saturday game against Radford. Ohio State transfer Theresa Ekhelar will be able to enter the lineup for the Mountaineers after sitting out the fall semester due to NCAA transfer rules.
Carey was surprised to hear that she would be eligible so soon.
"She gets to play the next game?" Carey said. "That's better than what I thought it was. I'm going to come out of here (the news conference) smiling, I came in here wanting to cry."
PRESS VIRGINIA
The Mountaineers used the style of play popularized by their men's counterparts, scoring 44 points off of 24 Coppin State turnovers.
The Eagles' 24 turnovers tie the most forced by West Virginia all season.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
West Virginia looks poised to move up in the AP Top 25 after dominating wins over Pitt and Coppin State, as well as No. 7 UCLA's 87-72 loss at Oklahoma State on Saturday.
UP NEXT
The Eagles conclude their eight-game road trip at VCU on Dec. 18.
The Mountaineers host Radford in Charleston, West Virginia, on Saturday.