MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - (Jan 30, 2024) – The No. 23-ranked West Virginia University women’s basketball team defeated Central Florida, 84-43, inside the WVU Coliseum on Tuesday night to collect the team's fifth straight conference win.
The 41-point win matches the highest margin of victory for a Big 12 Conference game in program history. The Mountaineers also hit this mark earlier this season in an 80-39 win over Houston on Jan. 17. The five straight conference wins are the most since the 2020-21 season.
West Virginia (18-2, 7-2 Big 12) was led by junior guard JJ Quinerly who rattled off 26 points on 10-of-14 shooting. The 71.4% mark from the floor is her best this season. The Norfolk, Virginia native added four assists and two rebounds while notching 20-plus points for the 11th time this season.
Junior guard Kyah Watson filled the stat sheet, narrowly missing a double-double with 10 rebounds and nine points. She added three steals, three assists and a block. Fifth-year guard Lauren Fields finished with 15 points and sophomore guard Jordan Harrison added 10. Harrison added a game-high five assists and four steals.
UCF (10-9, 1-8 Big 12) was led by Kaitlin Peterson who finished with 13 points. Peterson came into the contest as the Big 12’s leading scorer, averaging 21.5 points per game.
West Virginia forced 22 Central Florida turnovers in the game and converted those miscues into 26 points. It marks the 19th time this season the Mountaineers have forced 20 in a game.
The Mountaineers came out firing, limiting Central Florida to just four points on 2-of-15 shooting in the opening quarter. West Virginia closed out the final 6:24 of the frame on a 15-2 run to take an 18-4 lead into the first break. West Virginia forced UCF into nine turnovers and three shot clock violations across the 10 minutes.
West Virginia’s defense shined again in the second quarter, limiting Central Florida to single-digit scoring, just nine points, for the second straight quarter. Quinerly scored 16 points in the opening half, outscoring UCF single-handedly, as the Mountaineers took a 39-13 lead into halftime.
WVU added a quarter-high 23 points in the third despite a sluggish start that saw the Knights score the opening six points. The Mountaineers outscored UCF by five points in the frame before and 22-point fourth quarter gave the Mountaineers an easy 84-43 victory.
As a team, WVU shot 51.8% from the floor and connected on just 7-of-18 tries from beyond the arc. It is the seventh time this season WVU has hit over 50% of their attempts.
With the result, West Virginia moves to 4-0 all-time against the Knights, while picking up the first-ever win in Morgantown.
Next up, West Virginia hits the road for a matchup against BYU on Saturday, Feb. 3, at 6 p.m. ET. The contest will be broadcast on Big12Now on ESPN+ and the Mountaineer Sports Network, including 98.3 FM.
The 41-point win matches the highest margin of victory for a Big 12 Conference game in program history. The Mountaineers also hit this mark earlier this season in an 80-39 win over Houston on Jan. 17. The five straight conference wins are the most since the 2020-21 season.
West Virginia (18-2, 7-2 Big 12) was led by junior guard JJ Quinerly who rattled off 26 points on 10-of-14 shooting. The 71.4% mark from the floor is her best this season. The Norfolk, Virginia native added four assists and two rebounds while notching 20-plus points for the 11th time this season.
Junior guard Kyah Watson filled the stat sheet, narrowly missing a double-double with 10 rebounds and nine points. She added three steals, three assists and a block. Fifth-year guard Lauren Fields finished with 15 points and sophomore guard Jordan Harrison added 10. Harrison added a game-high five assists and four steals.
UCF (10-9, 1-8 Big 12) was led by Kaitlin Peterson who finished with 13 points. Peterson came into the contest as the Big 12’s leading scorer, averaging 21.5 points per game.
West Virginia forced 22 Central Florida turnovers in the game and converted those miscues into 26 points. It marks the 19th time this season the Mountaineers have forced 20 in a game.
The Mountaineers came out firing, limiting Central Florida to just four points on 2-of-15 shooting in the opening quarter. West Virginia closed out the final 6:24 of the frame on a 15-2 run to take an 18-4 lead into the first break. West Virginia forced UCF into nine turnovers and three shot clock violations across the 10 minutes.
West Virginia’s defense shined again in the second quarter, limiting Central Florida to single-digit scoring, just nine points, for the second straight quarter. Quinerly scored 16 points in the opening half, outscoring UCF single-handedly, as the Mountaineers took a 39-13 lead into halftime.
WVU added a quarter-high 23 points in the third despite a sluggish start that saw the Knights score the opening six points. The Mountaineers outscored UCF by five points in the frame before and 22-point fourth quarter gave the Mountaineers an easy 84-43 victory.
As a team, WVU shot 51.8% from the floor and connected on just 7-of-18 tries from beyond the arc. It is the seventh time this season WVU has hit over 50% of their attempts.
With the result, West Virginia moves to 4-0 all-time against the Knights, while picking up the first-ever win in Morgantown.
Next up, West Virginia hits the road for a matchup against BYU on Saturday, Feb. 3, at 6 p.m. ET. The contest will be broadcast on Big12Now on ESPN+ and the Mountaineer Sports Network, including 98.3 FM.
