MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University women's basketball team defeated Pitt, 82-54, on Tuesday inside the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown. The result marks the seventh straight win in the Backyard Brawl and is the second straight season WVU has come out on top.
 
The Mountaineer defense helped push the Mountaineers to victory despite a struggling offense across much of the opening two quarters. WVU forced 30 Pitt turnovers, the third time this season the team has reached the mark. From those mistakes, the Mountaineers were able to score 34 points.
 
Senior guard JJ Quinerly led the way for the Mountaineers, scoring a game-high 17 points to lead the Mountaineers for the first time this season and the 41^st time in her career. She added four rebounds, three steals and three assists.
 
Junior guards Jordan Harrison and Sydney Shaw finished in double-figures for the third time in as many games as Harrison had 14 and Shaw 11. Harrison added a game-high four assists as Shaw tied with Quinerly for the lead in steals with three. Senior guard Kyah Watson finished with eight rebounds to lead WVU for the second straight contest.  
 
West Virginia and Pitt struggled to find a rhythm in the opening quarter, sitting level at five after the opening seven minutes. The Mountaineers and the Panthers traded baskets the rest of the way before freshman forward Jordan Thomas' tough finish gave WVU a two-point advantage after 10.
 
West Virginia settled into the game in the second, outscoring the Panthers 9-2 over the opening three minutes. Harrison pushed the WVU lead to 21-11 with a stepback three at the 7:46 mark. Pitt trimmed the WVU advantage down to just six points a few minutes later. Senior forward Tirzah Moore converted a contested layup before two shots at the charity stripe from Harrison gave WVU its second double-digit lead of the night at 28-16 with three minutes to play.
 
The Mountaineers extended their lead to as many as 14 in the quarter after Quinerly scored four straight points and was the first player to break into double figures with 1:43 to play. WVU settled for a 10-point, 35-25 lead at halftime.
 
Pitt scored first out of the break, but Quinerly sparked a 6-0 run, scoring two pull-up jumpers and deflecting a Pitt inbound for an easy Harrison layup and a 41-27 lead after two minutes. The Panthers cut the lead back to single digits at the media timeout and a 41-32 WVU lead. West Virginia pushed its advantage to 16 points with three minutes to play. Pitt cut the lead down to 11 three times before senior guard Sydney Woodley converted on a last-second steal to fast break layup to take a 15-point advantage into the final quarter.
 
West Virginia's offense shined in the final quarter, opening play with a 14-2 run to push the WVU lead to 27 points after four minutes. WVU increased its lead to as many as 30 points in the late stages of the fourth and outscored the Panthers 26-13 over the final 10 minutes.
 
The Mountaineers finished the game with a 42-26 advantage in the paint despite Pitt holding a slight 38-35 edge on the glass. Both teams finished with 18 offensive rebounds.
 
Of note, the Mountaineers are now 30-19 all-time in the Backyard Brawl and 15-7 in contests played at the WVU Coliseum. The Mountaineers have now run their nonconference home win streak to 31 games, dating back to the 2018-19 season.
 
Next up, West Virginia stays at home to face Texas A&M on Friday, Nov. 15, inside the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown. The Mountaineers and the Aggies are set to tip off at 7 p.m. ET.