MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - (March 1, 2023) – The West Virginia University women’s basketball team (18-10, 9-8 Big 12) won in its final regular season home contest, 71-67, inside the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown on Wednesday. The win leveled the season series against Oklahoma State.
Fifth-year senior guard Madisen Smith produced her second straight 20-point game, scoring a game-high 22 and adding four rebounds. The scoring performance marks the ninth time she has finished a game with 20-plus points in her career.
Sophomore guard JJ Quinerly finished with 15 points and a team-high six rebounds while redshirt sophomore Isis Beh finished with 10 points and five rebounds. Quinnerly managed her 22nd double-digit scoring performance of the season.
WVU attacked the glass, outrebounding the Cowgirls 31-27, to lead the category in a game for the ninth time this season. When winning the battle on the glass, WVU is 8-1. The effort led to a 38-28 points in the paint advantage and 11 second chance points.
As a team, WVU shot 40.0% (26-of-65) from the floor, including 83.3% (15-of-18) from the charity stripe. The Cowgirls were slightly more efficient on the night, knocking down 25-of-59 (42.4%) of their attempts.
West Virginia opened the game 3-for-3 from the floor, forcing an early Cowgirl timeout at just 8:17. Oklahoma State regrouped out of the break, leveling the score at 9-9 at the six-minute mark. The lead changed or was tied six more times in the quarter, but five straight Mountaineers points over the final two minutes have WVU a 22-18 advantage. WVU went to work in the paint during the opening quarter, scoring 16 of their points from the high percentage area.
The Cowgirls scored the first four points of the second, leveling the score at 22-22, before both squads traded a basket to sit tied at the media timeout. WVU regained the lead, pushing their advantage to four points at 28-24 at the 4:30 mark. Oklahoma State responded with a 14-4 run to take a 38-32 lead into the locker room. WVU struggled to find their offensive rhythm, hitting just 4-of-16 shots during the 10 minutes.
West Virginia opened the second half on an 11-0 run over three minutes. Smith leveled the score at the foul line before junior forward Kylee Blacksten made a layup and a Quinerly 3-pointer gave WVU a 43-38 advantage. The Cowgirls stayed tough, leveling the score and taking another lead in the quarter. WVU outscored OSU 11-4 over the final four minutes to take a five-point lead with 10 to play.
The Mountaineers held on to their five-point lead, trading baskets with the Cowgirls to the fourth quarter media timeout. With 4:48 to play, WVU held a 63-58 advantage. WVU maintained that five-point lead until under a minute to play. Oklahoma State’s Anna Gret Asi connected on a 3-pointer, with just 10 ticks left, cutting the WVU lead to 69-67.
Quinerly made two free throws on WVU’s next possession, pushing the lead to four before redshirt sophomore Kay Watson secured the team’s eighth steal of the night to put the game away.
With the result, West Virginia moves to 15-11 all-time against Oklahoma State, including 8-4 in games played in Morgantown.
Also of note, the back-to-back 20 points scoring performance from Smith is the second time this season she has accomplished the feat. She last did it on Nov. 30 and Dec. 3 when she scored 20 against N.C. Central and a season-high 24 against Delaware State.
West Virginia closes out their regular-season schedule on Saturday in Waco, Texas. The matchup is against Baylor with tipoff from the Ferrell Center set for 6 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and the Mountaineer Sports Network, including 100.9 WZST-FM.
Fifth-year senior guard Madisen Smith produced her second straight 20-point game, scoring a game-high 22 and adding four rebounds. The scoring performance marks the ninth time she has finished a game with 20-plus points in her career.
Sophomore guard JJ Quinerly finished with 15 points and a team-high six rebounds while redshirt sophomore Isis Beh finished with 10 points and five rebounds. Quinnerly managed her 22nd double-digit scoring performance of the season.
WVU attacked the glass, outrebounding the Cowgirls 31-27, to lead the category in a game for the ninth time this season. When winning the battle on the glass, WVU is 8-1. The effort led to a 38-28 points in the paint advantage and 11 second chance points.
As a team, WVU shot 40.0% (26-of-65) from the floor, including 83.3% (15-of-18) from the charity stripe. The Cowgirls were slightly more efficient on the night, knocking down 25-of-59 (42.4%) of their attempts.
West Virginia opened the game 3-for-3 from the floor, forcing an early Cowgirl timeout at just 8:17. Oklahoma State regrouped out of the break, leveling the score at 9-9 at the six-minute mark. The lead changed or was tied six more times in the quarter, but five straight Mountaineers points over the final two minutes have WVU a 22-18 advantage. WVU went to work in the paint during the opening quarter, scoring 16 of their points from the high percentage area.
The Cowgirls scored the first four points of the second, leveling the score at 22-22, before both squads traded a basket to sit tied at the media timeout. WVU regained the lead, pushing their advantage to four points at 28-24 at the 4:30 mark. Oklahoma State responded with a 14-4 run to take a 38-32 lead into the locker room. WVU struggled to find their offensive rhythm, hitting just 4-of-16 shots during the 10 minutes.
West Virginia opened the second half on an 11-0 run over three minutes. Smith leveled the score at the foul line before junior forward Kylee Blacksten made a layup and a Quinerly 3-pointer gave WVU a 43-38 advantage. The Cowgirls stayed tough, leveling the score and taking another lead in the quarter. WVU outscored OSU 11-4 over the final four minutes to take a five-point lead with 10 to play.
The Mountaineers held on to their five-point lead, trading baskets with the Cowgirls to the fourth quarter media timeout. With 4:48 to play, WVU held a 63-58 advantage. WVU maintained that five-point lead until under a minute to play. Oklahoma State’s Anna Gret Asi connected on a 3-pointer, with just 10 ticks left, cutting the WVU lead to 69-67.
Quinerly made two free throws on WVU’s next possession, pushing the lead to four before redshirt sophomore Kay Watson secured the team’s eighth steal of the night to put the game away.
With the result, West Virginia moves to 15-11 all-time against Oklahoma State, including 8-4 in games played in Morgantown.
Also of note, the back-to-back 20 points scoring performance from Smith is the second time this season she has accomplished the feat. She last did it on Nov. 30 and Dec. 3 when she scored 20 against N.C. Central and a season-high 24 against Delaware State.
West Virginia closes out their regular-season schedule on Saturday in Waco, Texas. The matchup is against Baylor with tipoff from the Ferrell Center set for 6 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and the Mountaineer Sports Network, including 100.9 WZST-FM.
