On Thursday morning, the WVU women’s basketball team defeated the Winthrop Eagles by the score of 70-48.
WVU welcomed a barrage of children into the WVU Coliseum for Education Day, which gave a unique home-court advantage for head coach Dawn Plitzuweit’s second win for the gold and blue.
Through two games this season, the Mountaineers have made it a point to play stingy defense and try to force a bundle of turnovers. Plitzuweit’s squad did that on Thursday, forcing 30 Winthrop turnovers that resulted in 34 points.
In the first quarter, the Mountaineers jumped out to a 7-2 lead when both Madisen Smith and JJ Quinerly got points off early Winthrop turnovers.
However, Winthrop didn’t initially give in to WVU’s high-pressure defense, as the Eagles scored the next eight points to grab a 10-7 lead midway through the first quarter.
WVU ended the first quarter with a 9-2 run of its own, with junior guard Savannah Samuel scoring five points, including a three-pointer off a Winthrop turnover.
WVU ended the first quarter with a 16-12 lead, as the Mountaineers forced nine Eagle turnovers in the opening period.
West Virginia took that momentum into the beginning parts of the second quarter, as the Mountaineers went on a 10-0 run to extend the lead to 26-12.
In the second quarter, West Virginia got four points each from starters Jayla Hemingway and Kylee Blacksten and Sarah Bates added three points off the bench.
The Mountaineers forced the Eagles into seven more turnovers in the second quarter and took a 30-19 lead into halftime.
In the third quarter, West Virginia found its shot from beyond the arc, as five three-pointers went down in the period, with three of them coming from Smith.
Smith started the third quarter with a three-pointer off another Winthrop turnover to give the Mountaineers a 33-19 lead and buried another three-pointer on her next shot to extend the lead to 36-21.
Hemingway and Quinerly put in the other two three-pointers of the quarter, and entering the fourth quarter, WVU led 50-34.
In the fourth, WVU kept its foot on the gas pedal, not allowing Winthrop to make any miraculous comeback efforts.
The Mountaineers ensured a victory by outscoring the Eagles 20-14 in the game’s final quarter.
Danni Nichols and Kyah Watson each knocked down a three-pointer to help put the cherry on top of a fun morning in the Coliseum.
The Mountaineers went on to defeat Winthrop by a final score of 70-48, as head coach Dawn Plitzuweit now moves to 2-0 at WVU.
West Virginia will be back in action on Sunday, November 20th against Appalachian State. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. from the WVU Coliseum.
