Box Score STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – The West Virginia University women's basketball team suffered a 69-57 defeat to Penn State on Sunday evening, at the Bryce Jordan Center in State College.
 
West Virginia was led by sophomore guard JJ Quinerly, who tallied a game-high 16 points. She was joined in double figures by fifth-year senior guard Madisen Smith (12) and senior guard Jayla Hemingway (11). Redshirt sophomore guard Kyah Watson paced the squad with seven rebounds.
 
Following a PSU score to open the game, Quinerly sank two 3's, which forced the Lady Lions to call a timeout at the 6:07 mark of the quarter. Penn State then charged back to tie the game at 10-10 with 2:43 to play in the first. The Mountaineers narrowly outscored the Lady Lions, 4-3, to close out the period and take a 14-13 lead.
 
West Virginia fell behind by 14 to start the second quarter, as Penn State jumped out to a 32-18 lead over the first six minutes of the frame. WVU then countered with a 13-2 run of its own, which included and-1 tries for Hemingway, junior forward Kylee Blacksten and fifth-year senior guard Danni Nichols. The Mountaineers trailed the Lady Lions, 34-31, with just under three minutes remaining in the first half.
 
From there, PSU netted five unanswered to close out the half. WVU trailed, 39-31, at the break.
 
After West Virginia fell behind by double digits to open the second half, the two teams commenced to trade scores, but Penn State continued to lead by 10-plus through the first five minutes of the third quarter.
 
The Lady Lions would stretch their lead to 13 points following the media timeout, but three consecutive 3's from the Mountaineers cut the deficit to 48-44 with 3:30 to play in the frame. Penn State would counter with a 7-0 run, and West Virginia went into the fourth quarter trailing, 58-47.
 
WVU would fall behind by 13 to begin the final 10 minutes of the game. The Mountaineers attempted to chip into the lead, but the Lady Lions would counter and, ultimately, extend their lead to 16 points. Quinerly would tack on six more points for West Virginia before the end of the game, but Penn State kept converting on its end of the court to take the win.
 
Next up, West Virginia travels to West Palm Beach, Florida, for a pair of contests at the 2022 West Palm Beach Classic from Dec. 20-21. The Mountaineers open the event against Georgia on Tuesday, Dec. 20, before wrapping up their nonconference schedule against Miami (Ohio) on Wednesday, Dec. 21.