Carey Earns 400th Career Victory as Head Coach of Mountaineers
West Virginia women’s basketball head coach Mike Carey earned his 400th career victory on Sunday afternoon when his team knocked off Norfolk State for their third win in a row, 72-55.
The No. 22/25 Mountaineers (7-1) jumped out to an early 11-2 lead in the first quarter following a Tynice Martin three pointer and a Kari NiBlack layup.
La’Deja James helped cut into the Norfolk State (6-4) deficit with a pair of free throws but still finished the opening quarter trailing by eight points after an Areleighshya McElroy two-point jumper closed out the quarter for the Mountaineers.
"We just never got in the flow of things. I'll be honest with you, that's how we practiced this week, sloppy. We have to learn from this. It's good to get a win and get down here to Charleston,” explained WVU head coach Mike Carey. “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."
NiBlack put West Virginia on the board in the second quarter with a layup before a pair of three pointers off the fingers of Tynice Martin gave the Mountaineers an 11-point advantage.
Freshman Kirsten Deans also reached the scoreboard for the Mountaineers in the second following a two-point jumper which gave West Virginia a 14-point lead heading into the locker room.
The third quarter saw Martin continue her dominance with another three only three minutes into the half, which was followed by a Madisen Smith three pointer only two minutes later.
James also continued to put pressure on the Mountaineers with five points in the quarter, but Lucky Rudd hit a pair of free throws before the end of the quarter to extend the West Virginia advantage to 12 points.
McElroy came out firing for the Mountaineers in the final quarter, scoring the opening three points before Rochelle Norris, Smith and Martin totaled a trio of two-point jumpers through two minutes of action.
The Spartans attempted a comeback later in the fourth when Chanette Hicks netted a layup and knocked down a pair of free throws as well as Cam Platt-Morris knocking down a three pointer with two minutes remaining in regulation.
Norris then put the game away for good with a pair of layups in the final two minutes for the 72-55 Mountaineer victory.
Martin led the way for the Mountaineers on the night after knocking down 22 points, followed by NiBlack’s 14 points and Norris’ 10 points as the trio of West Virginia players finished in double digits.
West Virginia will now hit the road to take on Michigan State on December 21 before playing Syracuse on the 22nd as part of the Florida Sunshine Classic.