After taking their lumps in the first half, No. 15 West Virginia defeated Texas A&M 83-62 on Friday after a dominant second half.
The Mountaineers are now 4-0 on the season. They’ve outscored every opponent they’ve played by 20+ points and forced 20 or more turnovers.
JJ Quinerly led all scorers with 27 points. As a team, the Mountaineers shot 50.9% from the field and 60% from three.
After a couple of unsuccessful offensive possessions, West Virginia struck first with a three from Kylee Blacksten. The Mountaineers then forced a turnover, which led to another score, giving them a 5-0 lead in the early going.
WVU would maintain that lead in the early going. However, Texas A&M ended the first quarter on a 6-0 run that turned into an 8-0 run early in the second quarter before Kyah Watson ended it by hitting a three, making the game 20-15.
While the Mountaineers were still forcing turnovers, which has become a huge part of their play style, they were also committing turnovers, which hurt them and kept the game close. Just a couple of minutes into the second quarter, both teams had five turnovers.
A 6-0 run nearing the midway point of the second quarter helped WVU rebuild their lead, 26-17, and caused Texas A&M to call timeout. The timeout worked for the Aggies as they slowly crept closer to the Mountaineers.
At halftime, WVU held a minuscule 33-29 lead. For the first time in the young season, they had an even turnover margin at halftime, committing and forcing 10 turnovers.
West Virginia came out firing in the second half. Not only did they build a double-digit lead but began to play defense more aggressively.
That lead soon grew to over 20 as the Mountaineers were firing on all cylinders. At the end of the third quarter, WVU led 60-36.
Heading into the fourth, the Mountaineers looked to close out their fourth win of the season. West Virginia’s success in the third continued in the fourth.
Quinerly picked it up in the second half and eyed a 30-point performance. She finished with 27 points, four assists, three rebounds and two steals, shooting nine-for-16 from the floor, including four-for-five from three.
The Mountaineers will host Bowling Green on Tuesday in their next contest.
