Tuesday, January 10
Morgantown, W.Va.
7:00 p.m.
West Virginia University
vs
TCU
Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
WVU Women to Meet TCU Tuesday Night at the WVU Coliseum
January 09, 2023 06:38 PM | Women's Basketball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia begins a two-game Big 12 homestand Tuesday night when it faces TCU at the WVU Coliseum.
The Horned Frogs bring a 6-8 overall record into Tuesday night's clash. Last Saturday, TCU dropped a 78-70 decision to Texas Tech and show losses to Texas and Baylor in conference play so far as well.
Tomi Taiwo, a graduate transfer from Iowa, hit eight 3s and scored a game-high 33 points against the Red Raiders and leads the Horned Frogs with an average of 15 points per game. The 5-foot-10 senior guard has connected on 40 of her 103 attempts from behind the arc this year, or 28 more than the next closest player Tara Manumaleuga's 12 on 37 attempts.
Six-foot senior forward Lucy Ibeh, a Central Arkansas transfer, shows averages of 9.3 points and 4.2 rebounds per game, while Roxane Makolo, a Purdue transfer, is scoring at a 7.7 points-per-game clip.
Six-three senior forward Bella Cravens, a Nebraska transfer, is TCU's top rebounder pulling down 6.4 boards per contest.
TCU's top seven scorers all began their collegiate careers at other schools.
TCU is coached by Raegan Pebley, in her ninth season in Fort Worth with a 139-123 record. She was a former standout player at Colorado.
West Virginia, meanwhile, is coming off a strong performance at Kansas State last Saturday afternoon and is looking to continue its momentum on Tuesday night.
Sophomore guard JJ Quinerly scored a team-high 22 points, grabbed seven rebounds and made four steals in leading the Mountaineers to a 77-70 victory over the Wildcats.
Senior guard Jayla Hemingway contributed 20 points while Colorado transfer Kylee Blacksten had her best performance of the season by scoring 20 points and grabbing nine rebounds.
It's the first time in three years West Virginia has had three different 20-point scorers in a game when Naomi Davenport, Tynice Martin and Kari Niblack did it against Rider in a WNIT game at the Coliseum on March 21, 2019.
Blacksten hit the biggest shot of the game when she nailed a late 3 after Kansas State had reduced West Virginia's lead to 70-68, and then added another basket with 1:01 left to give WVU a seven-point margin.
Hemingway added a couple of free throws with 17.1 seconds left to secure the victory - one of two quality wins Dawn Plitzuweit's Mountaineers have produced so far this season. WVU outlasted Georgia, now 13-5, down in West Palm Beach, Florida, back on Dec. 20.
Quinerly (13.1 ppg.) and senior guard Madisen Smith (12.5 ppg.) are WVU's top two scorers. Smith struggled from the field against Kansas State, however, by making just one of her nine field goal attempts.
West Virginia's NCAA NET ranking is 78 heading into this week's action.
"We're improving and getting better," Plitzuweit said during her Monday night radio show at Kegler's Sports Bar & Grill. "We saw some growth in our Kansas State game in understanding how to attack. There are certainly lots that we can continue to learn from and we know that.
"We're progressing; our ball screen coverages are getting a little bit better and our post defense is getting a little bit better, but we have to continue to do little things well and keep learning and growing," she added. "Our players seem eager and willing to do that and that's important."
Tuesday night's game will tip off at 7 p.m. and will be televised on Big 12 Now on ESPN+. Mountaineer Sports Network radio coverage will be available locally on 100.9 WZST-FM as well as on WVUsports.com and the mobile apps WVU Gameday and The Varsity Network.
On Sunday, the Mountaineers will entertain 18th-ranked Baylor in a 3 p.m. afternoon clash.
Advanced tickets are available for both games and can be purchased through the Mountaineer Ticket Office by logging on to WVUGAME.com.
The Horned Frogs bring a 6-8 overall record into Tuesday night's clash. Last Saturday, TCU dropped a 78-70 decision to Texas Tech and show losses to Texas and Baylor in conference play so far as well.
Tomi Taiwo, a graduate transfer from Iowa, hit eight 3s and scored a game-high 33 points against the Red Raiders and leads the Horned Frogs with an average of 15 points per game. The 5-foot-10 senior guard has connected on 40 of her 103 attempts from behind the arc this year, or 28 more than the next closest player Tara Manumaleuga's 12 on 37 attempts.
Six-foot senior forward Lucy Ibeh, a Central Arkansas transfer, shows averages of 9.3 points and 4.2 rebounds per game, while Roxane Makolo, a Purdue transfer, is scoring at a 7.7 points-per-game clip.
Six-three senior forward Bella Cravens, a Nebraska transfer, is TCU's top rebounder pulling down 6.4 boards per contest.
TCU's top seven scorers all began their collegiate careers at other schools.
TCU is coached by Raegan Pebley, in her ninth season in Fort Worth with a 139-123 record. She was a former standout player at Colorado.
West Virginia, meanwhile, is coming off a strong performance at Kansas State last Saturday afternoon and is looking to continue its momentum on Tuesday night.
Sophomore guard JJ Quinerly scored a team-high 22 points, grabbed seven rebounds and made four steals in leading the Mountaineers to a 77-70 victory over the Wildcats.
Senior guard Jayla Hemingway contributed 20 points while Colorado transfer Kylee Blacksten had her best performance of the season by scoring 20 points and grabbing nine rebounds.
It's the first time in three years West Virginia has had three different 20-point scorers in a game when Naomi Davenport, Tynice Martin and Kari Niblack did it against Rider in a WNIT game at the Coliseum on March 21, 2019.
Blacksten hit the biggest shot of the game when she nailed a late 3 after Kansas State had reduced West Virginia's lead to 70-68, and then added another basket with 1:01 left to give WVU a seven-point margin.
Hemingway added a couple of free throws with 17.1 seconds left to secure the victory - one of two quality wins Dawn Plitzuweit's Mountaineers have produced so far this season. WVU outlasted Georgia, now 13-5, down in West Palm Beach, Florida, back on Dec. 20.
Quinerly (13.1 ppg.) and senior guard Madisen Smith (12.5 ppg.) are WVU's top two scorers. Smith struggled from the field against Kansas State, however, by making just one of her nine field goal attempts.
West Virginia's NCAA NET ranking is 78 heading into this week's action.
"We're improving and getting better," Plitzuweit said during her Monday night radio show at Kegler's Sports Bar & Grill. "We saw some growth in our Kansas State game in understanding how to attack. There are certainly lots that we can continue to learn from and we know that.
"We're progressing; our ball screen coverages are getting a little bit better and our post defense is getting a little bit better, but we have to continue to do little things well and keep learning and growing," she added. "Our players seem eager and willing to do that and that's important."
Tuesday night's game will tip off at 7 p.m. and will be televised on Big 12 Now on ESPN+. Mountaineer Sports Network radio coverage will be available locally on 100.9 WZST-FM as well as on WVUsports.com and the mobile apps WVU Gameday and The Varsity Network.
On Sunday, the Mountaineers will entertain 18th-ranked Baylor in a 3 p.m. afternoon clash.
Advanced tickets are available for both games and can be purchased through the Mountaineer Ticket Office by logging on to WVUGAME.com.
Players Mentioned
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