MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University women's basketball team defeated Fairmont State, 83-49, in its annual 'Haunted Hoops' exhibition on Sunday afternoon, inside the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown.
 
The Mountaineers led by as many as 36 points in the game and never trailed. What's more, WVU forced 30 Fairmont State turnovers, converting 35 points off those chances, and tallied 40 points in the paint.
 
West Virginia's scoring attack was led by a trio of double-digit scorers, including senior guard Jayla Hemingway, who finished the game with a game-high 14 points. She was joined in double figures by fifth-year senior guard Madisen Smith (13 points) and sophomore guard JJ Quinerly (12 points).
 
In the rebounding column, five Mountaineers hauled in at least four rebounds in the contest. Junior guard Savannah Samuel led WVU with five rebounds. Additionally, three players finished the game with three steals: fifth-year senior guard Danni Nichols, redshirt sophomore guard Kyah Watson and Smith.
 
West Virginia opened the game on a 14-2 run, before Fairmont State ended its five-minute scoring drought with 3:46 left in the first quarter. The Mountaineers closed out the opening frame with six more points to hold a 27-7 lead heading into the second quarter.
 
Fairmont State attempted to claw its way back in the second period, as the Falcons outscored the Mountaineers, 16-12, leading up to halftime. Junior forward opened the quarter with a 3-pointer to put WVU up by 23, but FSU continued to hang around and chipped West Virginia's lead down to 16 points at the half.
 
The two teams traded scores to begin the third quarter. However, the Mountaineer offense continued to attack and kept a 20-plus point lead over Fairmont State through the opening minutes of the second half. WVU held a 52-31 lead over FSU at the third-quarter media timeout.
 
The Mountaineers outscored the Falcons, 15-8, over the final 4:46 of the third quarter to lead by 28 heading into the fourth quarter.
 
West Virginia continued to press its attack over the final 10 minutes of the game and jumped out to a 10-3 run to begin the fourth. The scoring flurry stretched WVU's lead to 36 points, its largest of the game, with 4:42 remaining in the contest.
 
Fairmont State continued to fight down the stretch, but the damage had been done. West Virginia would coast to the finish line over the final minutes of the game and secured the win.
 
The Mountaineers finished the game 33-of-72 (45.8%) from the field and outshot the Falcons by 8.8% (17-of-46, 37%). Additionally, WVU outrebounded FSU, 41-26, and tallied 18 steals in the game.
 
West Virginia officially opens its 2022-23 season on Thursday, Nov. 10, when the Mountaineers play host to USC Upstate at the WVU Coliseum. Tipoff against the Spartans is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET, and will be broadcast on Big 12 Now.