No. 7 WVU holds off Kansas for share of Big 12 title

Morgantown, WV (SportsNetwork.com) - Bria Holmes scored 16 points and No. 7 West Virginia withstood a late charge from Kansas to earn a 67-60 victory that gave the Mountaineers a share of the Big 12 regular-season title.

Asya Bussie and Christal Caldwell added 14 points each and West Virginia (27-3, 16-2 Big 12) overcame a 38.6 percent shooting night to notch its 10th consecutive win. The Mountaineers were fresh off Sunday's 71-69 road triumph at Baylor, a result that ended the Lady Bears' 35-game home win streak against conference opponents.

West Virginia finished tied with Baylor for first place in the conference, but Baylor holds the tiebreaker based on a better head-to-head mark against the teams tied for third place -- Texas and Oklahoma State -- and will be the top seed in the Big 12 Tournament.

Kansas (12-18, 5-13) was dealt a fifth straight loss despite Cece Harper's game-high 19 points and seven assists. Natalie Knight finished with 17 points.

The Jayhawks owned a four-point lead late in the first half, but West Virginia closed out the period on a 10-2 run to take a 32-28 advantage into the break. It was a two-point game with under 14 minutes left, before an 11-3 spurt capped by Jess Harlee's layup put the Mountaineers up 53-43 nearing the midway mark of the second half.

West Virginia held a 63-51 lead with just over three minutes to play when the Jayhawks scored eight straight points, with Knight's triple with 1:59 to go pulling Kansas within five.

The Jayhawks failed to make a field goal the rest of the way, however, and Harleee hit 1-of-2 free throws with 40 seconds left after a Kansas turnover for a 66-58 edge that all but ended the upset bid.