WVU Women’s Basketball Preps For Big 12 Play With 103-52 Win

WVU Women’s Basketball extended their unbeaten record to 11-0 on Thursday, obliterating Niagara 103-52.

The win extends head coach Mark Kellogg’s perfect streak to begin his Mountaineers’ career, the longest-ever from a West Virginia head coach. Junior guard JJ Quinerly led the scoring, as per usual, but she didn’t need to play a dominant role in the game. Every Mountaineer who entered the game scored, and five of them managed double digits. West Virginia forced 32 turnovers on the day, setting a season high with 25 steals. The stalwart defensive performance moved them into the No. 2 spot in the country for turnovers forced, leapfrogging in-state rival Marshall.

The Mountaineers also managed triple digits for the second time this year, making 55.1 percent of shots from the field despite shooting an ugly 4-for-21 from beyond the arc.

After surviving a late scare against Wright State on Monday, West Virginia raced out to a 32-13 lead in the first quarter, taking control of the game and refusing to let up the pressure. 12 of the Mountaineers’ steals came in the opening ten minutes as they set the tone early with furious defensive pressure.

As the game went on, Kellogg emptied his bench, giving players who hadn’t had much of a chance at playing time this season an opportunity to get some minutes. Junior forward Danielle Arigbabu tied a season high with nine points, all of them coming in the fourth quarter as she helped West Virginia break the century mark.

The win concludes the non-conference slate for WVU Women’s Basketball. They’ll open Big 12 play at 1 pm on Saturday, December 30, taking on the 7-4 Kansas Jayhawks in Lawrence.