Despite playing the second half with only five available players, West Virginia dominated the third quarter and knocked off No. 15 Duke 57-49 on Friday in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va.
Just before halftime, West Virginia's Jordan Harrison tried to beat the buzzer with a 3-pointer but Duke's Jordan Wood blocked the shot. As the horn sounded, Wood yelled at Harrison as the two were face-to-face. Harrison then shoved Wood and, after Wood shoved back, all the players on the court ran toward the skirmish.
However, five Mountaineer players left the bench to run onto the court. Though none of them took part in any shoving, all five were ejected (as were Harrison and Wood). That left West Virginia (4-0) with only five available players to start the second half -- which Duke (2-2) began with a 23-20 lead.
The Mountaineers outscored the Blue Devils 24-9 in the third quarter to take control of the game. Sydney Shaw led all scorers with 16 points in the win, while Celia Riviere and Gia Cooke added 12 each. Riley Makalusky scored seven points, but they were the final seven points of a 16-2 third-quarter run that gave West Virginia a 42-29 lead.
Taina Mair was the only Duke player to score in double figures, registering 10.
No. 6 Oklahoma 89, North Alabama 61
Raegan Beers had 20 points, 11 rebounds and three blocked shots as the Sooners rolled to an 89-61 win against the Lions in Norman, Okla.
Oklahoma (3-1) led 57-33 at halftime and held North Alabama (3-1) to 32.4% shooting. The Sooners' superior size produced a 53-40 edge in rebounds and a 32-14 advantage in points in the paint.
Joining Beers in double figures for Oklahoma were Aaliyah Chavez (17 points), Sahara Williams (13) and Zya Vann (12). Alexsandra Alvarado put up 14 points for North Alabama, while Venla Ulander added 12 points and India Howard had 10.
No. 7 Baylor 62, UNLV 54
Down by eight points early in the fourth quarter, the Bears stormed back to defeat the Lady Rebels in Las Vegas.
Two jumpers from Yuting Deng sparked an 11-0 run for Baylor (3-0). Taliah Scott followed with a 3-pointer and two layups, the last of which gave the Bears a 54-51 lead with 2:47 to play.
Scott wound up with 23 points, while teammate Darianna Littlepage-Buggs posted nine points and 12 rebounds. Jasmyn Lott scored 18 points and Meadow Roland amassed 13 points and 11 boards for UNLV (2-1).
--Field Level Media
