Box Score MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Four different Mountaineers scored in double figures as the West Virginia University women's basketball team (12-4, 3-2 Big 12) knocked off No. 18/17 Baylor, 74-65, inside the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown on Sunday afternoon.
 
The victory marked the Mountaineers' first over the Bears since March 6, 2017, when WVU claimed the 2017 Big 12 Tournament title. Additionally, it is West Virginia's first win over Baylor at home in program history, as well as first-year coach Dawn Plitzuweit's first win over a ranked team.
 
Sophomore guard JJ Quinerly (18), fifth-year senior Madisen Smith (16), junior forward Kylee Blacksten (16) and senior guard Jayla Hemingway (15) all finished in double figures to lead the Mountaineers to the upset win. Hemingway recorded the second double-double of her career Sunday afternoon, tallying 16 points and a career-best 14 rebounds.
 
As a team, West Virginia finished the game shooting 26-of-63 (41.3%) from the field, including 9-of-23 (39.1%) from 3-point range. The Mountaineers forced 15 Baylor turnovers, converting those turnovers into 22 points. WVU's defense held Baylor to just 24-of-66 (36.4%) from the floor and 7-of-29 (24.1%) from beyond the arc.
 
West Virginia started off strong, going 3-of-4 from 3-point range. Quinerly opened the scoring with a 3-point jumber, Blacksten and Hemingway added triples of their own to put WVU out to a 9-5 lead. Hemingway helped guide the Mountaineers to a 23-14 lead at the end of the first quarter, as she led all scorers with 10 points. The Collierville, Tenn., native went 4-of-6 from the floor and 2-of-2 from 3 to help West Virginia build the early lead.
 
In the second frame, West Virginia continued to add to its advantage, as it went up by as many as 14 points. Smith and Blacksten added a pair of buckets apiece, with a Blacksten layup at the midway point of the second quarter giving WVU its biggest lead of the afternoon. However, Baylor began to claw its way back, outscoring the Mountaineers 16-1 in the latter half of the second to take a 34-33 lead into the locker room at halftime.
 
Out of the break, Baylor tried to use its momentum from the end of the first half to build a lead. The Bears outscored WVU 11-2 in the opening minutes, but the Mountaineers refused to let the momentum swing completely in favor of the visitors. West Virginia allowed BU to go up by 10, but that was its only double-digit lead as WVU began to cut back into the deficit. A 3-pointer from Quinerly at the 5:37 mark prefaced a pair of free throws from senior forward Tavy Diggs to pull the Mountaineers back within four. The two squads then traded baskets back and forth down the stretch, as the score stood at 57-57 heading into the fourth.
 
Hemingway was the first to score in the final frame, giving WVU a 59-57 advantage with 8:30 to play. Back-to-back buckets from Blacksten helped West Virginia start to build the advantage to as many as nine, and a strong WVU defense held Baylor scoreless until a pair of free throws at the 3:01 mark. With West Virginia up by five going into the final two minutes of the game, the visitors were forced to send the Mountaineers to the free-throw line to keep them from running out the clock. WVU converted 4-of-6 at the line to hold off the No. 18-ranked Bears and pull off the upset.
 
WVU now moves to 4-22 against Baylor all time, including 1-10 in games played in Morgantown. Sunday's win marked the Mountaineers' first win over a ranked team since Jan. 9, 2021, when they topped No. 17 Texas, 92-58, inside the WVU Coliseum.
 
Also of note, WVU's 74 points against the Bears Sunday afternoon marked the second-most points scored against Baylor in the series, just behind the 77 the Mountaineers posted over Baylor to claim the 2017 Big 12 title.
 
Next up, West Virginia returns to the road for a mid-week matchup at Kansas on Wednesday, Jan. 18. Tipoff against the Jayhawks is set for 8 p.m. ET, inside the Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas. Wednesday's contest will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and the Mountaineer Sports Network, including 100.9 WZST-FM.