MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (Jan. 15, 2025) – The No. 20-ranked West Virginia University women's basketball team rolled past Colorado, 73-46, on Wednesday evening inside the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown. The win avenged the Mountaineers first Big 12 conference loss of the season and moved the Mountaineers to 4-2 in conference play.
 
West Virginia used relentless pressure for 40 minutes, forcing Colorado into 30 turnovers for the contest that resulted in 39 of the Mountaineers points. It marks the sixth time this season WVU has reached 30 turnovers forced in a game. That pressure limited the Buffaloes to just two points in the second quarter and six in the fourth.
 
Four Mountaineers finished the contest in double figures, led by senior guard JJ Quinerly and junior guard Sydney Shaw who each scored 19 points. Quinerly added a team leading six steals. Fifth year forward Kylee Blacksten scored in double-figures for the third straight contest as senior guard Kyah Watson also finished with 10 points and three steals.
 
Junior guard Jordan Harrison tallied with a team-leading four assists and seven rebounds to go along with nine points.
 
Quinerly scored the Mountaineers opening four points of the game to break into the top 10 of the program's all-time scoring list. Trailing 8-4, Harrison knocked down a corner three before Quinerly hit an and one runner in the lane to give the Mountaineers a 10-8 lead at the media timeout.
 
Watson scored out of the break before Colorado scored 14 straight points to take a 22-12 lead in the final minute of the first. Shaw knocked down a step back three with 40 seconds to play, the Mountaineers' first basket in nearly four minutes, as CU led 22-15 at the end of the first.  
 
West Virginia and Colorado couldn't find an offensive rhythm over the first seven minutes of the second, combining to shoot just 3 of 22 from the floor. Trailing 24-20, the Mountaineers scored 11 straight points to close out the half and take a 31-24 lead.
 
WVU finished the quarter 4 of 5 from the field and forced Colorado into 10 turnovers and just two points in the quarter. The two points from CU are the least from a team in a quarter this season as they connected on just 1 of 14 of their attempts. The Mountaineers forced 16 Colorado turnovers during the open 20 and turned those miscues into 21 points.
 
Colorado scored eight straight points to open the second half, quickly regaining the lead during the opening three minutes. Watson knocked down a corner three for the Mountaineers' first points of the quarter, spurring on a 15-0 WVU run to put the Mountaineers ahead for good.
 
Colorado failed to score for nearly six minutes in the middle part of the quarter, missing four attempts from the floor and coughing up seven turnovers. The Mountaineers took a nine-point lead into the final frame after the Buffalos scored the final six points.
 
WVU put the game away early in the fourth, scoring the opening 14 points and not allowing a CU basket until the three-minute mark. The 27-point victory marks the 13^th time this season the Mountaineers have won by 20 or more points.
 
The Mountaineers are now 1-1 all-time against Colorado and 1-0 when playing inside the WVU Coliseum.
 
Quinerly's 19 points in the game pushed her to No. 9 on the all-time scoring list with 1,659, and behind Hall of Famer Meg Bulger (2008-11) with 1,665. She is 4^th in steals with 285 and sits just eight away from catching Hall of Famer Rosemary Kosiorek (1989-92) who has 293.
 
West Virginia is back at home on Sunday, Jan. 19, against Iowa State inside the WVU Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. ET and will be the Mountaineers second contest this season on national TV, airing on FOX.