Box Score CINCINNATI, Ohio. – The Mountaineers held Cincinnati scoreless in the opening quarter on its way to their third straight win on Saturday afternoon, defeating the Bearcats, 72-43, inside Fifth Thirds Arena in Cincinnati.
It marks the second straight contest West Virginia has held an opponent scoreless in the opening quarter. WVU's last two opponents are a combined 0-of-21 from the floor in the opening quarter, holding Houston to a 0-of-13 mark and Cincinnati to 0-of-8 this afternoon. The Mountaineers are outscoring their opponents 32-0 in the opening quarter over the last two contests.
West Virginia scored the game's opening 17 points, extending into the early portion of the second quarter. WVU forced seven turnovers in the opening frame while holding the Bearcats scoreless during the opening 10:35 of action. The Mountaineers held Houston scoreless slightly longer the last time out, not connecting on their first basket till 10:54 of game action.
Cincinnati missed its opening eight attempts from the floor. The WVU run included 13 Bearcat turnovers and five West Virginia steals. The Mountaineers held the Bearcats 20 points below its season-scoring average.
West Virginia maintained its 15-point advantage into the break, leading 33-18 after the opening 20 minutes. The Mountaineers extended its lead to 36 points with just under five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. It marked WVU's largest lead of the contest.
The Mountaineers' (16-2, 5-2 Big 12) scoring efforts were led by junior guard
JJ Quinerly, who tallied 23 points. It marks the ninth time this season she has scored over 20 points and her 17th time in double-figures. She added a career-high eight steals.
Sophomore guard
Jordan Harrison finished with 15 points and nine assists to narrowly miss a double-double. She added four rebounds and three steals. Senior forward
Tavy Diggs added 12 points and fifth-year senior
Lauren Fields registered 10 points, two steals and two rebounds.
Junior
Kyah Watson led the effort on the glass, grabbing five rebounds.
Defensively, West Virginia forced 29 Bearcat turnovers, reaching 20-plus for the 17th time this season. The 18 steals are the fourth most this season. West Virginia turned those Cincinnati miscues into 35 points.
The Mountaineers shot 46.6% (27-of-58) from the floor and held the Cougars to a mark of 28.6% (12-of-42). WVU limited UC to just two 3-pointers and a 15.4% mark. West Virginia dominated the paint, outscoring the Bearcats 42-12 from the high percentage area.
Also of note, West Virginia has now recorded 10-plus steals in a game for the 16th time this season.
Next up, West Virginia returns to Morgantown on Saturday, Jan. 27, when the Mountaineers play host to Iowa State. Tipoff against the Cyclones is set for 2 p.m. ET, inside the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown. Saturday's contest will be broadcast on Big 12 Now and the Mountaineer Sports Network, including 100.9 WZST-FM.
