In the first half of No. 8 West Virginia women’s basketball first round NCAA Tournament game against No. 9 Princeton, the Mountaineers didn’t look like themselves.
The Mountaineers trailed by two at halftime, while they only forced five turnovers total in the first half leading to four points. That quickly changed for WVU, as they owned the third quarter, helping lead them to a 63-53 win against the Tigers, earning them a date with No. 1 Iowa on Monday night.
West Virginia had relied on their pressure all season long and for the first 20 minutes of the game that pressure wasn’t able to phase Princeton. The Tigers controlled the first half, using a big rebounding advantage as well as limiting WVU’s opportunities to get quality looks on offense.
That changed in a hurry as the Mountaineers cranked up their pressure and the Tigers couldn’t handle it. WVU trailed by five early after a Princeton three-pointer, but went on an ensuing 13-0 run which lasted from the 9:27 mark of the third quarter until the 6:25 mark of the third, taking a 37-29 lead.
The momentum they built during the run was able to sustain the Mountaineers throughout the remainder of the quarter, as they outscored Princeton 18-7 in the third quarter, forcing 12 turnovers leading to 13 points.
Kylee Blacksten was a force during the third, scoring eight points as she made a layup and three-pointer on back-to-back trips to give WVU the lead.
In the fourth, Princeton was not going to go away without a fight. The Tigers clawed back to within six with 5:41 to play as they were on a 5-0 run. At the same time, WVU opened the first 5:40 of the third quarter with five turnovers, more than they had in the entire third quarter.
The fourth quarter offensively for the Mountaineers would belong to JJ Quinerly though. Despite the struggles with possession, Quinerly was able to guide the Mountaineers offensively. She scored the first 11 points of the quarter for West Virginia, as she finished with a game high 29 points.
In the first half, Princeton was able to work through Kaitlyn Chen and Madison St. Rose, as they combined for 19 of Princeton’s 26 points on 8-for-18 shooting. While they scored 20 combined points in the second half, it was mostly. coming from the free throw line as the Mountaineers were able to make them less efficient from the field.
Princeton cut WVU’s lead to six multiple times in the fourth quarter, and got it down to
Princeton was held to a season low 33 percent from the field, despite making six three-pointers on the afternoon.
West Virginia ended up forcing a total of 21 turnovers leading to 21 points. And after Princeton controlled the rebounding advantage 23-12 in the first half, WVU was able to hold their own on the boards in the second, as they out-rebounded Princeton 16-11.
As a team the Mountaineers shot 53 percent from the field, and their struggles at the free throw line kept the Tigers in the game. WVU finished the night going 18-for-36 from the free throw line, but made them when they mattered most, as they made seven of their first 10, but finished going 11-for-20 in the fourth quarter.
WVU had three scorers reach double digits. Besides Quinerly, Jordan Harrison scored 15 points, and Blacksten scored 10 points. Outside the three of them, the rest of WVU scored nine points.
West Virginia secured their first NCAA Tournament win since 2021, and now advance to face No. 1 seed Iowa on Monday. Tip-off is set for 8:00 p.m. EST and the game will be televised on ESPN.
