WVU Women’s Basketball Opens Big 12 Play with Statement Win

WVU Women’s Basketball continued their unbeaten start to the season on Saturday, as the No. 25 Mountaineers opened Big 12 play with a dominant 85-60 road win over the Kansas Jayhawks.

6-foot-6 Jayhawks center and 2023 unanimous First Team All-Big 12 honoree Taiyanna Jackson helped crowd the Mountaineers out of the paint early, managing eight points, five rebounds and three blocks in the first 20 minutes.

After seeing JJ Quinerly dominate for much of the out of conference slate, the Mountaineers’ secondary options led the charge against Kansas. Kyah Watson earned a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds, while Jordan Harrison led the scoring with 18 points.

The Mountaineers struggled to crack the Jayhawks’ defense in the opening period. It took them six minutes to score their first points in the paint, a layup from junior Tirzah Moore—one of just two two-point shots made in the period. West Virginia’s defense gave as good as they got, though—forcing 20 turnovers for the 11th time this season—and three made three pointers helped the Mountaineers take a 14-12 lead after ten minutes.

Mountaineers Crack the Code

Moore and Kylee Blacksten both fell into foul trouble in the second quarter, increasing West Virginia’s size disadvantage and forcing Danelle Arigbabu into big minutes early. The Mountaineers continued to counter Jackson’s presence with success from beyond the arc, shooting 4-of-6 in the second quarter to open a commanding 38-25 lead while giving themselves more space to operate inside.

Kansas opened the second half with consecutive three-pointers to close the lead to single digits, but the Mountaineers reeled off an 8-1 run over the next 90 seconds to quell the rally.

Three of West Virginia’s starters got into foul trouble in the second half, but the Mountaineers’ bench continued to put pressure on the Jayhawks, carrying the team to a comfortable victory.

WVU Women’s Basketball moves to 12-0 on the season. They’ll host the Cincinnati Bearcats in their Big 12 home opener at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, January 3.