WVU Women’s Basketball Blows Past No. 11 Cyclones in Ames

WVU Women’s Basketball picked up a signature win on Sunday, Jan. 11, knocking off No. 11 Iowa State 83-70 on the road.

The Mountaineers (14-3, 4-1 Big 12) forced turnovers and outscored Iowa State 19-11 in the third quarter, the margin of victory in an otherwise tight matchup. Leading 40-39 at the half, West Virginia reeled off a 9-0 run out of the break that included five straight points from senior guard Gia Cooke. Mountaineers’ forward Kierra Wheeler led the field with 25 points on 10-of-18 shooting, while Jordan Harrison added 19 points and eight assists.

West Virginia’s ferocious defense forced 25 turnovers, which they turned into 30 points scored, and limited the Cyclones to just 46 shots taken. Iowa State put on a strong performance from long range, sinking ten of 23 three-point shots, and 23 Mountaineers’ fouls turned into an 18-of-19 clip from the charity stripe.

West Virginia, for their part, made 33 of 65 shots, dominating the paint for 44 points scored. While Iowa State led 21-14 seven minutes into the game, the Mountaineers made three of five threes in the first period, erasing that deficit with a Harrison triple just before the buzzer. After five lead chances and two ties in the first half, a 6-0 run late in the second quarter gave West Virginia the lead for good.

WVU Women’s Basketball will return to action with their third straight top 20 matchup when they host No. 13 TCU at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 14.