Shanna Rose | WV Sports Chat
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The 20th-ranked West Virginia University women’s basketball team used a season-high nine first-half 3-pointers and relentless defensive pressure to pull away from Arizona for an 87–68 win Saturday inside Hope Coliseum.
The Mountaineers never trailed after the first quarter and became the first team in the Big 12 to reach 10 conference wins this season.
Kierra Wheeler led WVU with 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting and added six rebounds. Sydney Shaw finished with 16 points, knocking down four 3-pointers on 4-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc. Jordan Harrison contributed 14 points, eight steals and five assists, while Gia Cooke scored 13 and Celia Riviere added 10 points off the bench as the Mountaineers placed five players in double figures.
WVU (20–5, 10–3 Big 12) finished with 10 3-pointers, 21 assists and forced 29 turnovers, converting them into 38 points. Harrison’s eight steals marked a career high and her fourth straight game with at least five.
The Wildcats (11–12, 2–10 Big 12) was led by Tanyuel Welch’s 17 points, with Daniah Trammell adding 15. Arizona shot 51.7 percent from the field but struggled to handle the Mountaineers’ pressure for much of the afternoon.
The Wildcats led early, but WVU closed the first quarter strong. Harrison hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to give the Mountaineers a 23–17 lead after one, despite Arizona holding a lead as large as six in the opening frame.
WVU broke the game open with a 13–0 run spanning the end of the first quarter and the start of the second, then poured it on with a 27–9 second-quarter advantage. The Mountaineers knocked down five 3-pointers in the period and forced five turnovers to take a commanding 50–26 lead into halftime.
A 9–0 run early in the third quarter pushed WVU lead to its largest at 74–40. The Mountaineers outscored the Wildcats 24–19 in the third to maintain full control heading into the final period.
Arizona closed the game on an 11–0 run, holding WVU scoreless over the final 3:15 and outscoring the Mountaineers 23–13 in the fourth quarter, but the early deficit proved too much to overcome.
The victory marked WVU’s fourth straight season reaching double-digit Big 12 wins.
The Mountaineers are back in action on Wednesday, Feb. 11, against UCF inside Hope Coliseum. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET, with coverage on ESPN+.
Photo Credit: WVU Athletics
