No. 19 WVU Women Hold off Kansas 69-61, Win Streak Now at 11 Games

The No. 19 West Virginia University women’s basketball team had four players score in double-figures as the Mountaineers held off visiting Kansas for a 69-61 win Wednesday at the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown.

Wednesday’s win was the 11th consecutive victory for WVU (16-2, 10-2 Big 12).

The Mountaineers led by as many as 16 points against the visiting Jayhawks (7-10, 3-8 Big 12), but KU cut it close at times in the second half for West Virginia eventually pulled away for the win.

“Give Kansas credit,” WVU coach Mike Carey said. “They came right at us. Coach (Brandon) Schneider does a great job. They were getting downhill on us. Offensively, we were standing around. We just didn’t play well. Give Kansas a lot of credit for that.”

Senior guard Kysre Gondrezick, named earlier this week to the Naismith Trophy watch list, led West Virginia with 19 points while junior forward Kari Niblack finished with 17 points. Sophomore forward Esmery Martinez also scored 17 points Wednesday against Kansas while sophomore guard K.K. Deans had 11 points. Martinez and Deans each also grabbed seven rebounds.

For Kansas, Holly Kersgieter scored a game-high 25 points while while Tina Stephens chipped in with 11 points in the loss.

West Virginia will look to extend it win streak to 12 games when the Mountaineers host Oklahoma on Sunday. Tip-off between WVU and the Sooners is scheduled for 2 p.m. with the broadcast streaming on ESPN+.