Box Score MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University women's basketball team (8-0) collected its first-ranked win of the season with a hard-fought, 83-65 victory over No. 25 Penn State inside the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown on Monday night.
The win over Penn State (7-2) is the first for the Mountaineers since 1989. The win also marks the 56th time WVU has defeated a ranked opponent and the 29th at the WVU Coliseum.
The Mountaineers used a high-intensity defensive effort to collect the win. Penn State came into the contest with the sixth-best scoring offense in the county, averaging 85.3 points per game, as WVU held the Lady Lions well below its scoring average.
WVU forced the Lady Lions into 26 turnovers which resulted in 18 Mountaineer steals and 31 points off those Penn State miscues. West Virginia scored 25 of its points on the fast break while adding 38 points in the paint. The Mountaineers added a season-high 82.6% (19-of-23) from the foul line.
West Virginia was led by junior guard
JJ Quinerly, who tallied a game-high 22 points. It marks the third straight contest Quinerly has reached the 20-point mark, as she added four rebounds, three steals and two assists.
She was joined in double figures by four additional Mountaineers. Sophomore guard
Jordan Harrison needed just one more assist for a double-double, finishing with 14 points, nine assists and six steals. The effort marks the fourth time this season she had tallied over four steals in a game.
Redshirt junior guard
Kyah Watson paced the squad with eight rebounds and added 15 points. Fifth-year seniors
Lauren Fields (12) and
Tavy Diggs (10) also finished in double figures.
Penn State opened the contest to a 9-5 lead, but an 8-0 WVU run with the help of five WVU steals gave the Mountaineers its first lead of the night at 13-9 with three minutes on the clock. The Lady Lions used two 3's on its final possession to take an 18-16 lead after the opening frame.
West Virginia and Penn State traded baskets early in the second quarter, ultimately tied at 29 with four minutes to play. WVU finished the final four minutes of the half on a 12-2 run, to take a double-digit, 41-31 lead into halftime. Thanks to the late run, WVU outscored PSU 25-13 over the 10 minutes.
Penn State committed 10 fouls in the third quarter to spot the Mountaineers half of its points in the quarter, 12, at the charity stripe. West Virginia led by as many as 16 points, before taking a 65-54 lead into the final 10 minutes of action.
The Lady Lions scored the opening two baskets in the fourth, during the opening minute, to pull within seven points. The mark was as close as Penn State got to mounting a comeback. WVU went on a 14-4 run to lead by as many as 17 points with four minutes to play to put the game away.
WVU's defense in the final quarter forced nine Penn State turnovers and held the Lady Lions to just nine shots.
Also of note, the Mountaineers are a perfect 8-0 just the sixth time in program history. It marks the best start to a season since 2018 when WVU opened the season 13-0.
Next up, West Virginia stays at home for a Sunday, Dec. 10, matchup against Delaware State. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. ET at the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown.
