No. 24 West Virginia women’s basketball stayed undefeated Wednesday after using their defense to hold down Cincinnati in an 68-53 win at the WVU Coliseum.
Newly dubbed the 24th-best team in the country, the Mountaineers relied heavily on their defensive identity in the win. West Virginia (13-0, 2-0 Big 12) struggled at times on offense, namely in transition and from the three-point line.
WVU led 36-19 at the half, led by Kaya Watson’s 10 points off 5/8 shooting. The biggest factor in the quick start, though, was the defense, marked by a 12-3 lead in steals and 17-8 lead in forced turnovers.
Both teams started the game in their respective elements, with WVU relying on forced turnovers and Cincinnati playing into size and rebounding. Despite the efforts of Bearcat seniors Jillian Hayes and Malea Williams though, WVU’s formula started the game on top and kept them ahead for the entirety of the evening.
The Mountaineers forced three turnovers in three minutes to start the first quarter, leading to a full team substitution for Cincinnati. The change did little to stop WVU’s defensive momentum, however, and the Mountaineers went on to force seven turnovers in the first five minutes and 10 in the quarter.
In the second quarter, West Virginia capitalized on offense way more than in the first. After missing their first eight from the three point line to start the game, Lauren Fields and Jordan Harrison made two three’s each to go 5 for 9 as a team in the second quarter.
The Mountaineers also made sure to switch gears to the inside, getting Tirzah Moore involved twice early in the second quarter. The Mountaineers struggled at the rim in the first half, but were still able to manage to make 57 percent of their shots in the second quarter, after a slow start in the opening 10 minutes.
Cincinnati protected the ball much better in the second half, making just two turnovers, therefore they only got outscored by two in the third quarter. The Mountaineers also struggled more in terms of shooting splits in the second half, going 8 for 24 from the field and 2 for 11 from three.
Despite that though, the Mountaineers did not have their lead dip below 15 points the entirety of the second half, causing to their 13th consecutive victory to start the season.
WVU outscored the Bearcats in all but the fourth quarter, while the Bearcats fell to 8-5 and 0-2 in Big 12 play.
The Mountaineers now stand as one of six undefeated women’s basketball squads and one of two in the Big 12. TCU and Baylor currently play Wednesday night to determine who the conference’s second undefeated honors go to.
West Virginia takes on its toughest competition yet on Saturday in Texas. The Longhorns currently rank No. 10 and are 14-1 with a loss to Baylor.
Photo by Aaron Parker, Blue Gold Sports
