MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - (Jan 27, 2024) – Junior guard JJ Quinerly scored a career-high 31 points to push the Mountaineers to an 84-78 win over Iowa State on Saturday afternoon inside the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown.
In a back-and-forth battle that saw nine ties and nine lead changes, the Mountaineers made use of a strong second half to pick up their fourth straight conference win. Both teams never led by more than double digits in the contest.
West Virginia's (17-2, 6-2 Big 12) scoring effort was led by Quinerly’s career mark as she added a team-high six rebounds and five steals and three assists. She is just the third player in program history to reach the stat line.
It is the second time in Quinerly’s career she has scored over 30 points in a game.
Senior forward Kylee Blacksten and fifth-year guard Lauren Fields finished with 14 points. Blacksten added three rebounds as Fields collected three steals. Sophomore guard Jordan Harrison also finished in double figures with 13 points. She added six assists and three steals. Junior guard Kyah Watson finished with six rebounds, five points and three steals.
Iowa State (12-7, 6-3 Big 12) was led by Audi Crooks who managed a double-double with 25 points and 16 rebounds.
West Virginia collected 17 steals in the contest while forcing the Cyclones into 24 turnovers. The result marked 13 extra shot attempts in the game for WVU and a 26-12 advantage in points off turnovers. The Mountaineers attached the glass, corralling 12 of their 27 rebounds on the offensive end. ISU held a slight 28-26 advantage in the paint.
Iowa State built a 14-9 lead over the opening six minutes. The Mountaineers closed out the quarter on a 7-0 run to take a slight 16-14 advantage. With just three seconds to play in the opening frame, ISU attempted a long inbound from its own baseline. Fifth-year guard Jayla Hemingway deflected the lob pass to Fields who pulled up and knocked down the deep three from just a few paces over half court.
The Mountaineers extended its lead to five points in the second quarter at 25-20 with 6:25 to play. Iowa State leveled the score at 28 two minutes later. WVU and ISU exchanged the lead four times and tied three over the final minutes of the quarter before ISU took a 40-38 lead into halftime.
Both West Virginia and Iowa State knocked down 5-of-8 three-point attempts in the second quarter.
Quinerly came to life offensively in the second half, scoring 22 of her 31 points. She scored nine points in the third quarter while helping WVU close out the frame on a 10-1 run to take a five-point lead into the fourth.
Harrison knocked down back-to-back 3’s at the midway point of the fourth quarter to give the Mountaineers its largest lead of the game at 73-64. Iowa State pulled within two points twice over the final four minutes of action, but Quinerly took matters into her own hand each time. The Norfolk, Virginia native knocked down two 3’s to stop both Iowa State runs.
The West Virginia defense limited ISU to just one field goal over the final four minutes of action to collect the win.
As a team, WVU shot 46.2% (30-of-65) from the floor and connected on just 13-of-27 tries from beyond the arc. The 13 makes from three are tied for the most this season.
With the result, West Virginia moves to 14-12 all-time against Iowa State, including a 9-4 mark in games played in Morgantown.
Also of note, Mountaineers played in front of a crowd of 4,905 in the ‘Gold Rush’, marking the second largest crowd of the season at the WVU Coliseum.
Next up, West Virginia closes out the two-game home stand with a matchup against UCF on Tuesday, Jan. 30, at 7 p.m. ET. The contest will be broadcast on Big12Now on ESPN+ and the Mountaineer Sports Network, including 100.9 WZST-FM.
In a back-and-forth battle that saw nine ties and nine lead changes, the Mountaineers made use of a strong second half to pick up their fourth straight conference win. Both teams never led by more than double digits in the contest.
West Virginia's (17-2, 6-2 Big 12) scoring effort was led by Quinerly’s career mark as she added a team-high six rebounds and five steals and three assists. She is just the third player in program history to reach the stat line.
It is the second time in Quinerly’s career she has scored over 30 points in a game.
Senior forward Kylee Blacksten and fifth-year guard Lauren Fields finished with 14 points. Blacksten added three rebounds as Fields collected three steals. Sophomore guard Jordan Harrison also finished in double figures with 13 points. She added six assists and three steals. Junior guard Kyah Watson finished with six rebounds, five points and three steals.
Iowa State (12-7, 6-3 Big 12) was led by Audi Crooks who managed a double-double with 25 points and 16 rebounds.
West Virginia collected 17 steals in the contest while forcing the Cyclones into 24 turnovers. The result marked 13 extra shot attempts in the game for WVU and a 26-12 advantage in points off turnovers. The Mountaineers attached the glass, corralling 12 of their 27 rebounds on the offensive end. ISU held a slight 28-26 advantage in the paint.
Iowa State built a 14-9 lead over the opening six minutes. The Mountaineers closed out the quarter on a 7-0 run to take a slight 16-14 advantage. With just three seconds to play in the opening frame, ISU attempted a long inbound from its own baseline. Fifth-year guard Jayla Hemingway deflected the lob pass to Fields who pulled up and knocked down the deep three from just a few paces over half court.
The Mountaineers extended its lead to five points in the second quarter at 25-20 with 6:25 to play. Iowa State leveled the score at 28 two minutes later. WVU and ISU exchanged the lead four times and tied three over the final minutes of the quarter before ISU took a 40-38 lead into halftime.
Both West Virginia and Iowa State knocked down 5-of-8 three-point attempts in the second quarter.
Quinerly came to life offensively in the second half, scoring 22 of her 31 points. She scored nine points in the third quarter while helping WVU close out the frame on a 10-1 run to take a five-point lead into the fourth.
Harrison knocked down back-to-back 3’s at the midway point of the fourth quarter to give the Mountaineers its largest lead of the game at 73-64. Iowa State pulled within two points twice over the final four minutes of action, but Quinerly took matters into her own hand each time. The Norfolk, Virginia native knocked down two 3’s to stop both Iowa State runs.
The West Virginia defense limited ISU to just one field goal over the final four minutes of action to collect the win.
As a team, WVU shot 46.2% (30-of-65) from the floor and connected on just 13-of-27 tries from beyond the arc. The 13 makes from three are tied for the most this season.
With the result, West Virginia moves to 14-12 all-time against Iowa State, including a 9-4 mark in games played in Morgantown.
Also of note, Mountaineers played in front of a crowd of 4,905 in the ‘Gold Rush’, marking the second largest crowd of the season at the WVU Coliseum.
Next up, West Virginia closes out the two-game home stand with a matchup against UCF on Tuesday, Jan. 30, at 7 p.m. ET. The contest will be broadcast on Big12Now on ESPN+ and the Mountaineer Sports Network, including 100.9 WZST-FM.
