On Tuesday, January 10, the West Virginia women’s basketball team will return to the WVU Coliseum to face the TCU Horned Frogs after picking up a 77-70 road win over Kansas State last Saturday.
West Virginia (10-4, 1-2 Big 12) got off to a rocky start to conference play when both Oklahoma and Iowa State made quick work of the Mountaineers. Despite the two set-backs, Dawn Plitzuweit’s squad bounced back with a win in the Little Apple on Saturday, and they now look to bring that momentum back to Morgantown against the Horned Frogs.
For the first time all season, three WVU players recorded 20 or more points against Kansas State, with JJ Quinerly leading the way with 22 and Jayla Hemingway and Kylee Blacksten each adding 20 of their own.
The scoring barrage by the trio led to the road win over a quality Kansas State team, and if the scoring can be at all replicated on Tuesday, Plitzuweit’s group should have no trouble with the 6-8 Horned Frogs.
West Virginia will need to find a level of consistency going forward in the scoring department, and a potential contributor to elevating the offense will be the play of forward Kylee Blacksten. Blacksten, the Colorado transfer, stands at 6-foot-3 can often pose as a mismatch for smaller teams.
However, Blacksten’s 20-point performance against Kansas State marked only the second time the junior has reached double figures all season, with the other coming against Appalachian State early in the season.
The Mountaineers can typically count on points from guards such as Madisen Smith, Jayla Hemingway, and JJ Quninerly, but if Blacksten can get going on a consistent basis in league play, then plenty of doors will open offensively.
Speaking of guard play, the defense from the Mountaineer back court will need to be locating a TCU shooter at all times, and that is guard Tomi Taiwo. In TCU’s 78-70 loss to Texas Tech on Saturday, the graduate senior scored a game-high 33 points while shooting 8-for-13 from three-point range.
The Iowa transfer is currently averaging 15 points per game, and is transitioning nicely into the Big 12, as she is averaging 16.6 points per game in three conference games.
Adding to TCU’s back court is a pair of nice complimentary players, with sophomore Knisha Godfrey and Roxane Makolo. Godfrey averages 6.6 points per game and scored 17 points against the Texas Longhorns. Makolo also gives TCU another 7.7 points per game at the guard position and adds another layer of experience, as she played three years at Purdue before coming to Fort Worth.
West Virginia will look to slow down the deep TCU back court with an experienced and talented back court of its own, as Quinerly, Hemingway, and Smith have a combined eight years of experience at the Division 1 and Power 5 level.
West Virginia and TCU will tip off at 7 p.m. from the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown, WV. It is also WVU Faculty & Staff Appreciation Night at the Coliseum.
