A slew of turnovers was expected on Saturday as Niagara came in as the No. 1 team in forcing turnovers and No. 16-ranked WVU No. 3. However, it was all West Virginia as they dominated the turnover battle and the game, defeating Niagara 110-38.
The Mountaineers forced a total of, which is the most under head coach Mark Kellogg and for them in the 21st century in general. Off of those turnovers, they scored 53 points which allowed them to gain a very comfortable lead.
Niagara took an early lead, but WVU soon took control. Early on, they were winning turnovers and finding success on offense.
In the first quarter they had a 19-0 run lasting over five and a half minutes as they allowed little room for Niagara to operate their offense. Toward the end of the first quarter, the Purple Eagles began to find more success, but West Virginia remained in the driver’s seat.
At the end of the first quarter, the Mountaineers led 27-9. They caused 14 Niagara turnovers in the first quarter, which turned into 18 points.
WVU maintained the same approach in the second quarter. They led by more than 40 and continued forcing turnovers.
At the end of the first half, WVU held a commanding 56-15 lead. They forced 10 more turnovers in the second quarter, for a total of 24 in the first half.
Sydney Shaw led all players with 15 points in the first half, shooting five-for-five, including two-for-two from beyond the arc. Freshman Jordan Thomas had 14 points as well.
Niagara struggled to force West Virginia turnovers, something they have keyed in on the past few years. In the first half, they forced just eight turnovers.
The Mountaineers looked to close out the game comfortably in the second half and did just that. They did not take their foot off the gas and soon grew a lead of over 50 points.
WVU limited Niagara defensively while continuing to find ways to score offensively. In the third quarter, they had a 25-4 run, and at the start of the fourth, they led 83-27.
In the fourth quarter, JJ Quinerly fouled out, but it didn’t affect the Mountaineers as much as they were up by a ton. They had a 14-0 run that kept extending their lead as they went up by over 70 points with time running down in the fourth quarter.
In the end, it was a win for West Virginia. The story was their tightly-contested defense that led to the abundance of turnovers.
Five Mountaineers ended with 10+ points: Jordan Harrison led all scorers with 21, Shaw ended with 20, Thomas had 14, Quinerly had 11 and Kylee Blacksten had 11 as well.
WVU improves to 2-0 on the season, outscoring opponents 195-79 in their first two games. Next up for West Virginia is the Backyard Brawl against Pitt at home on Tuesday.
