MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (March 23, 2024) – The No. 8-seeded West Virginia University women’s basketball team defeated the No. 9-seeded Princeton Tigers, 63-53, on Saturday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa.
West Virginia (25-7, 12-6 Big 12) used its best field goal shooting performance in an NCAA Tournament game (52.5%) and a dominant third quarter to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2021.
West Virginia will face No. 1-seeded Iowa on Monday, March 25, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City. The tip-off time has yet to be announced.
Quinerly scored 29 points to lead all scorers. Quinerly’s 29 points ties for the most points scored by a Mountaineer in a tournament game. She also tied the most field goals made by a Mountaineer in a tournament game with 10.
The game began with Princeton scoring eight of the first 10 total points between the two squads. Despite trailing by six in the early minutes, Quinerly settled the Mountaineers down with seven first-quarter points.
Three West Virginia turnovers turned into seven points for the Tigers, as WVU trailed by three heading into the second quarter.
The Mountaineers trailed by as many as nine points in the second quarter, but a seven-point scoring outburst by sophomore guard Jordan Harrison kept WVU within arm’s reach of Princeton. After falling behind, 23-14, with over six minutes remaining in the half, WVU orchestrated a 10-3 run to cut the deficit to two at the half, 26-24.
Harrison and Quinerly combined for 20 of West Virginia’s 24 first-half points.
Princeton hit a three-pointer in the first 13 seconds of the third quarter to lead by five. Those would be the only points for the Tigers for the next six minutes as the Mountaineers took over.
West Virginia held Princeton to just seven points in the third quarter as it went on an 18-4 scoring run to take its first lead of the game. During that run, the Mountaineers forced 12 turnovers and scored 13 points off those turnovers to lead by nine heading into the fourth quarter.
In the fourth quarter, West Virginia’s double-digit lead was cut to as low as six. However, the Mountaineers closed out the Tigers from the free throw line to advance.
West Virginia also scored 21 points off 21 Princeton turnovers. Harrison finished with 15 points and senior forward Kylee Blacksten scored 10 as they were the only other Mountaineers to finish with double-digit points.
West Virginia (25-7, 12-6 Big 12) used its best field goal shooting performance in an NCAA Tournament game (52.5%) and a dominant third quarter to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2021.
West Virginia will face No. 1-seeded Iowa on Monday, March 25, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City. The tip-off time has yet to be announced.
Quinerly scored 29 points to lead all scorers. Quinerly’s 29 points ties for the most points scored by a Mountaineer in a tournament game. She also tied the most field goals made by a Mountaineer in a tournament game with 10.
The game began with Princeton scoring eight of the first 10 total points between the two squads. Despite trailing by six in the early minutes, Quinerly settled the Mountaineers down with seven first-quarter points.
Three West Virginia turnovers turned into seven points for the Tigers, as WVU trailed by three heading into the second quarter.
The Mountaineers trailed by as many as nine points in the second quarter, but a seven-point scoring outburst by sophomore guard Jordan Harrison kept WVU within arm’s reach of Princeton. After falling behind, 23-14, with over six minutes remaining in the half, WVU orchestrated a 10-3 run to cut the deficit to two at the half, 26-24.
Harrison and Quinerly combined for 20 of West Virginia’s 24 first-half points.
Princeton hit a three-pointer in the first 13 seconds of the third quarter to lead by five. Those would be the only points for the Tigers for the next six minutes as the Mountaineers took over.
West Virginia held Princeton to just seven points in the third quarter as it went on an 18-4 scoring run to take its first lead of the game. During that run, the Mountaineers forced 12 turnovers and scored 13 points off those turnovers to lead by nine heading into the fourth quarter.
In the fourth quarter, West Virginia’s double-digit lead was cut to as low as six. However, the Mountaineers closed out the Tigers from the free throw line to advance.
West Virginia also scored 21 points off 21 Princeton turnovers. Harrison finished with 15 points and senior forward Kylee Blacksten scored 10 as they were the only other Mountaineers to finish with double-digit points.
