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MORGANTOWN -- Veteran West Virginia University women's basketball coach Mike Carey knew he had a roster of players that could score any time from any place on the court.
But could the Mountaineers defend?
Second-year coach Kyle Cooper and his Division-II women's team from West Liberty University were be the first to test Carey's Mountaineers when the teams met during the annual Haunted Hoops exhibition Tuesday night at the WVU Coliseum. WVU pulled away for an 88-53 victory.
The first 20 minutes of action proved Carey's assessment to be spot on as the Mountaineers had eight of their nine dressed players light up the scoreboard as the team put up 42 points.
But, WVU's defense showed several lapses as West Liberty connected on 13 of 27 shots and headed to the locker rooms at the half trailing by 10 at 42-32.
Redshirt junior Tynice Martin picked up where she left off following a year's absence away from the court. The Georgia native connected on four of her 11 shots from the field and both free throws to lead WVU's attack with 11 points. Senior Naomi Davenport chipped in with 10 and added a team-high six rebounds.
West Liberty had seven of its 11 players that saw action in the first two quarters tally points as seniors Marissa Brown and Brandi Beader, junior Taylor Johnson and sophomore Olivia Belknap contributed six points each.
West Virginia, the No. 3 pick in the preseason Big 12 basketball poll, closed out the first half with a 12-2 run over the final 4:44.
The Mountaineers continued to pour in buckets like the opposition was passing out candy for Halloween, outscoring their guests by a 24-11 margin and heading into the final 10 minutes with a hefty, 66-43, advantage.
But, defensively, Carey's squad picked up the intensity and held the Hilltoppers to 21 points during the final 20 minutes of action on 24-percent shooting (6 of 25).
Offensively, University of Michigan transfer Kysre Gondrezick made her Mountaineers debut a solid one, finishing with 12 points while preseason All-Big 12 selection Martin added 15. Davenport (18) and Theresa Ekhelar (12) rounded out WVU's double-digit performers on the night.
For West Liberty, which is looking to rebound in the Mountain East Conference from a 13-16 mark in Cooper's first year, Belknap tallied 15 points while Beader finished with nine.
Thirty minutes after the final horn neither coach made himself available to the media.