MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (Jan 6, 2024) – The No. 24-ranked West Virginia University women's basketball team fell in its first contest of the season to Texas, 70-49, inside the WVU Coliseum on Saturday afternoon in Morgantown.
The Mountaineers' (13-1, 2-1 Big 12) scoring efforts were led by junior guard JJ Quinerly, who tallied a game-best 22 points to go along with four rebounds, four steals and one assist. It marks the seventh time this season the Norfolk, Virginia native has reached 20 points. Sophomore guard Jordan Harrison would join her in double figures, with 10 points. Junior Tirzah Moore paced WVU on the glass, with six rebounds.
Texas (15-1, 2-1 Big 12) was led by three double-digit scorers, including Madison Booker and Shaylee Gonzales who led the way with 15 points. Booker added 12 boards to finish with a double-double.
As a team, WVU shot a season-low 26.7% (16-of-60) from the floor and connected on just 4-of-31 tries from beyond the arc. The 31 three-point attempts marked a season high. Texas finished the contest knocking down 53.2% (25-of47) of its attempts, which marks the best an opponent has shot against the Mountaineers this season.
West Virginia forced 24 turnovers for the second consecutive game. It marks the 13th time this season WVU has notched 21-plus opponent turnovers.
Texas opened the contest to a 4-0 lead before Quinerly knocked down a three to pull within one point. The Longhorns connected on five straight attempts from the field to pull ahead 15-7 at the 3:19 mark. The Longhorns took a 23-16 lead after 10 minutes of play, in large part due to an 80% (8-of-10) mark from the floor.
UT scored the opening point of the second quarter and then kept a 10-point advantage over the first four minutes. West Virginia then fell behind by as many as 15 points with just over a minute to play in the half, before a late Lauren Fields three put the WVU deficit at 37-25.
West Virginia’s offensive struggle continued in the third quarter, hitting just 3-of-16 shots from the floor. The Longhorns came out of the break and scored 14-of-17 opening points, including the first 10 of the quarter, to quickly pull away. Texas extended its lead to 24 points in the third frame.
The Mountaineers outscored the Longhorns 17-16 in the final quarter, shooting a game-best 50% from the floor. The effort fell short as Texas handed the Mountaineers its first loss of the season.
With the result, West Virginia moves to 10-18 all-time against Texas, including a 5-7 mark in games played in Morgantown.
Next up, West Virginia hits the road for two straight contests. The Mountaineers open the trip in Ames, Iowa to take on Iowa State on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. ET. West Virginia closes out the road stint in Orlando, Florida with a matchup against UCF on Saturday at Noon. Both games will be broadcast on Big12Now on ESPN+ and the Mountaineer Sports Network, including 100.9 WZST-FM.
The Mountaineers' (13-1, 2-1 Big 12) scoring efforts were led by junior guard JJ Quinerly, who tallied a game-best 22 points to go along with four rebounds, four steals and one assist. It marks the seventh time this season the Norfolk, Virginia native has reached 20 points. Sophomore guard Jordan Harrison would join her in double figures, with 10 points. Junior Tirzah Moore paced WVU on the glass, with six rebounds.
Texas (15-1, 2-1 Big 12) was led by three double-digit scorers, including Madison Booker and Shaylee Gonzales who led the way with 15 points. Booker added 12 boards to finish with a double-double.
As a team, WVU shot a season-low 26.7% (16-of-60) from the floor and connected on just 4-of-31 tries from beyond the arc. The 31 three-point attempts marked a season high. Texas finished the contest knocking down 53.2% (25-of47) of its attempts, which marks the best an opponent has shot against the Mountaineers this season.
West Virginia forced 24 turnovers for the second consecutive game. It marks the 13th time this season WVU has notched 21-plus opponent turnovers.
Texas opened the contest to a 4-0 lead before Quinerly knocked down a three to pull within one point. The Longhorns connected on five straight attempts from the field to pull ahead 15-7 at the 3:19 mark. The Longhorns took a 23-16 lead after 10 minutes of play, in large part due to an 80% (8-of-10) mark from the floor.
UT scored the opening point of the second quarter and then kept a 10-point advantage over the first four minutes. West Virginia then fell behind by as many as 15 points with just over a minute to play in the half, before a late Lauren Fields three put the WVU deficit at 37-25.
West Virginia’s offensive struggle continued in the third quarter, hitting just 3-of-16 shots from the floor. The Longhorns came out of the break and scored 14-of-17 opening points, including the first 10 of the quarter, to quickly pull away. Texas extended its lead to 24 points in the third frame.
The Mountaineers outscored the Longhorns 17-16 in the final quarter, shooting a game-best 50% from the floor. The effort fell short as Texas handed the Mountaineers its first loss of the season.
With the result, West Virginia moves to 10-18 all-time against Texas, including a 5-7 mark in games played in Morgantown.
Next up, West Virginia hits the road for two straight contests. The Mountaineers open the trip in Ames, Iowa to take on Iowa State on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. ET. West Virginia closes out the road stint in Orlando, Florida with a matchup against UCF on Saturday at Noon. Both games will be broadcast on Big12Now on ESPN+ and the Mountaineer Sports Network, including 100.9 WZST-FM.
