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WVU Women’s Basketball

West Virginia Defeats TCU, 68-48, in Opening Round of Big 12 Tournament

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No. 7 seed West Virginia advanced to the quarterfinal of the Big 12 women’s tournament after defeating No. 10 TCU, 68-48, on Thursday night at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, MO. The Mountaineers man-to-man defensive pressure gave TCU fits alls game, as the Bull Frogs turned the ball over 24 times. It’s the 18th time this season that West Virginia has forced at least 20 turnovers.

Along with giving West Virginia easy layups in transition, TCU shot poorly from the field, converting just 14-of-51 shots (27.5%) and went 2-of-19 from behind the arc (10.5%). In contrast, West Virginia was 26-of-63 (41.3%) and 7-of-16 on three-point attempts (43.8%). Madisen Smith led the Mountaineers with 19 points and had four triples. Ja’Naiya Quinerly was second in scoring with 16 points. Overall, West Virginia had pretty balanced scoring.

West Virginia jumped out to a 17-5 lead in the first quarter. After being tied at 4-4, the Mountaineers went on a 13-1 run. TCU really struggled from the field in the opening quarter, as the Horn Frogs were 1-of-10.

After nailing a three-pointer at the buzzer of the first quarter, Jayla Hemingway converted another triple in the beginning of the second quarter to give the Mountaineers a commanding 27-9 lead. West Virginia continued to dominate and went into halftime with a 34-11 advantage. West Virginia really never looked back after getting on top by 12 points in the first quarter.

TCU made just 3-of-22 shots (13.6%) from the field in the first half and were 0-9 from behind the arc. West Virginia was 14-of-32 (43.8%) and 3-of-7 on three-point attempts (42.9%). Jayla Hemingway led the Mountaineers with nine points in the first half and had two triples.

While TCU trailed 51-29 heading into the fourth quarter, the Bull Frogs did have some momentum by going on a 10-3 run to end the third quarter. The scoring surge continued in the fourth, as TCU went on a 10-0 run to make it a 53-40 game with 4:21 remaining. However, West Virginia answered with a jumper by Quinerly and a triple by Esmery Martinez to enhance the Mountaineers lead to 18 points. The 5-0 run pretty much sealed the win for West Virginia. TCU just came out of the gates too slow. It’s tough to win when you turn the ball over 24 times and shoot 27.5% from the field. West Virginia’s defense was really the difference maker.

West Virginia plays No. 2 seed Iowa State in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament on Friday. Tipoff is at 6 p.m ET. and the game can be streamed on ESPN+. The Mountaineers lost to Iowa State in both regular-season matchups.

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