On Saturday, the WVU women’s basketball team will return to action against the Iowa State Cyclones for their annual “pink game.”
West Virginia (14-8, 5-6 Big 12) has struggled as of late, as the Mountaineers have dropped their last three games, most recently to Oklahoma State on the road.
Despite JJ Quinerly and Madisen Smith each scoring over 15 points, the defense of the Mountaineers didn’t give the team much of a chance, as five Oklahoma State players reached double figures.
Iowa State enters Morgantown with a strong 15-6 record with a 7-4 record in Big 12 play. The Cyclones are a strong team at home, much like the men’s team, as they have posted a 10-1 record at Hilton Coliseum this season.
The Cyclones are a respectable road team, but with a 3-4 record, they have proven to be beatable. West Virginia has done a good job of protecting home court in Dawn Plitzuweit’s first year at the helm, as the Mountaineers have posted a 9-2 record inside the WVU Coliseum, with the only losses coming to ranked Oklahoma and Texas teams.
The West Virginia defense will need to shape up a big in order to snap a losing streak in the strong Big 12 conference. Against Oklahoma State, WVU recorded 10 steals, but that pressure was not enough in the end. The Mountaineers will need to apply that same pressure against the Cyclones, and that will start with Smith and Quinerly’s on-ball pressure against the Iowa State guards.
Speaking of Iowa State guards, the Cyclones feature one of the top players in the conference in senior guard Ashley Joens. Joens is averaging 20 points and nine rebounds per game for the Cyclones, and the Iowa City native has reached double figures in every game except for one this season.
Joens is a natural scorer, as the fifth-year senior has done that against the toughest of competition in the deep conference. Joens 23 points against Baylor, 32 against Oklahoma, 26 against Kansas, and 27 on the road against Oklahoma. Joens shoots a lot, but she shoots 42% from the field and nearly 35% from three-point range, so she can’t be left uncontested.
A big piece to WVU’s success on Saturday will be getting Jayla Hemingway back into rhythm to go along with Smith and Quinerly. Hemingway, who averages nearly 10 points per game for the Mountaineers, has been quiet as of late, as the senior guard registered only four points in both of WVU’s most recent losses, while Quinerly and Smith carried the load offensively with double digits. If Hemingway can get shots to fall while Quinerly and Smith continue to perform, the Mountaineer offense can go as far as they want.
West Virginia and Iowa State will square off on Saturday, February 11 from the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown, WV. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. and the action can be viewed on ESPN+.
