MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University women’s basketball team rolled past Youngstown State, 94-40, on Sunday afternoon inside the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown.
The Mountaineers (3-0) used four double-digit scoring efforts while shooting an efficient 57.1% from the floor to run away with its second wire-to-wire victory of the season. The mark from the field is the first time since 2019 that WVU has knocked down over 57% of its shots.
Sophomore Guard Jordan Harrison led the way for WVU with a game high 16 points on a perfect 5-of-5 mark from the floor. Her points mark the first time she has led WVU in scoring, adding five rebounds and four assists.
Junior guard JJ Quinerly and fifth-year senior Lauren Fields chipped in with 14 points and tied for a team-high four assists. Quinerly led all players with three steals. Junior guard Tirzah Moore played in her first contest for WVU where she turned in 10 points, four boards and two assists.
Fifth-year senior Tavy Diggs produced a career high eight rebounds, leading WVU’s effort on the glass, and added six points. The effort marks the first time in her career she has led the Mountaineers’ rebounding effort. She was the fourth West Virginia player of the night to finish with four assists as her eight rebounds helped push WVU to a 38-23 advantage in the category.
Fifth-year senior Jayla Hemingway and senior Kylee Blacksten both finished with nine points. Junior guard Kyah Watson collected seven rebounds, seven points and two steals.
West Virginia raced out to a 9-0 lead in the contest capped off by five straight Harrison points. The Penguins pulled back within five points at the six-minute mark but a 16-3 run to close out the quarter pushed the WVU advantage to 18.
The Mountaineers finished the quarter 10-of-13 from the floor for a mark of 76.9%. It is the second-highest field goal percentage in a quarter in program history.
West Virginia opened the second quarter with another 9-0 run, extending its lead to 27 over the opening two minutes. WVU pushed its lead to as many as 31 in the quarter before taking a 47-19 lead into halftime. WVU’s bench came to life in the quarter, outscoring the Penguins 17-0.
The Mountaineers kept their foot on the gas out of the break, producing an 18-0 run to extend the lead out to 65-19. Quinerly came to life during the span, scoring 10 of her 14 points in just over a minute of game time.
Leading 77-25 after three, West Virginia added 17 more points in the fourth quarter to roll to their third straight win of the season. The Mountaineers held the Penguins to under 10 points across the opening three quarters, highlighted by allowing just six YSU points in the third.
Youngstown State hit just 30.2% of its shots for the game including a 6-of-28 mark from three.
Of note, the Mountaineers committed just five fouls in the contest, the least amount of fouls committed by a WVU team since 1986. All 10 WVU players that saw action also scored during the contest.
Next up, West Virginia hits the road for three contests, as the team gets set for the 2023 San Juan Shootout in San Juan, Puerto Rico, from Nov. 23-25. The Mountaineers are set to take on George Washington on Thursday, Nov. 23, at 12:30 p.m. ET. The following day on Friday, Nov. 24, WVU squares off with Charlotte at 10 a.m. before concluding tournament action against Southern Illinois on Saturday, Nov. 25, at 10 a.m. All three games will be broadcast on FloSports and the Mountaineer Sports Network.