On Wednesday, November 30th, the West Virginia women’s basketball team defeated NC Central in blowout fashion, winning by a score of 89-58.
The Mountaineers returned from their two-game trip to Cancun over Thanksgiving break and got back to their winning ways after suffering a defeat against NC State.
WVU rode an impressive offensive attack, as the Mountaineers scored nearly 90 points while shooting 54.4% from the field and 47.6% from three-point range as a team.
The veteran presence came up big for the Mountaineers, as the game’s best players were senior guards Jayla Hemingway and Madisen Smith. Hemingway scored 15 points while Smith led all scorers with 20 points and added five steals on the defensive end.
After the win, Hemingway complimented Smith on her efforts on the defensive side of the ball.
“I think that she just wants it more,” Hemingway said about Smith. “I think she plays really hard on defense and it’s really hard to teach somebody that.”
West Virginia did not dominate the game from the jump, as the two teams went back and forth in the beginning parts of the first quarter.
Despite NC Central keeping things tight throughout parts of the opening quarter, early production from the veteran guards Hemingway and Smith helped establish a lead. Hemingway accounted for six first quarter points while Smith netted five.
After a quarter of play, the Mountaineers held a 25-16 lead over the Eagles.
In the second quarter, Smith took over and made her presence known on both sides of the ball, as the fifth year senior scored nine more points while accounting for two steals in the period.
West Virginia outscored NC Central 18-11 in the second quarter, and 10 Eagle turnovers led to seven of those points for the Mountaineers. At halftime, WVU led NC Central 43-27.
The Mountaineers rode a strong shooting performance from the field in the third quarter to help bury the Eagles. In the quarter, West Virginia shot 8-for-13 from the field, resulting in 23 points. Six of the 23 points came from two three-pointers from South Dakota transfer Kyah Watson.
NC Central struggled mightily in the third quarter, shooting a combined 4-for-16 from the field as a team, resulting in only 10 points. The Eagles also committed seven more turnovers in the third quarter, which turned into nine more WVU points.
At the end of the third, WVU had extended its lead to nearly 30 points, as the Mountaineers led 66-37 going into the final period.
In the fourth, WVU added 23 points to its total, while the team shot 50% from the field in the last 10 minutes.
NC Central had its best quarter of the day offensively in the final frame, as the Eagles scored 21 points, but it was far too late to mount a comeback.
West Virginia went on to win the game 89-58, as the Mountaineers improved their record to 5-1 on the young season.
The Mountaineers will be back in action on Saturday as they welcome Delaware State to the WVU Coliseum. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m.
