WVU Women’s Basketball Survives Early Slump, Advances to Big 12 Semifinals

WVU Women’s Basketball advanced to the Big 12 Tournament semifinals on Friday, March 7, taking down the No. 20 Kansas State Wildcats 73-69 at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo.

The No. 16 Mountaineers played to a 16-16 tie in the first six minutes before Kansas State closed out the first period on an 11-3 run, taking control of the game for the middle going and leading by as much as 12 points.

West Virginia came out of the half guns blazing, however, erasing much of the Wildcats’ lead in the third period before sneaking past them for good in the final minutes.

Wildcats’ forward Kennedy Taylor, who went 9-for-9 for 21 points off the bench, put Kansas State ahead 69-67 via a layup with 1:53 to play.

Jordan Thomas scored the equalizer on the ensuing possession, then JJ Quinerly — who finished with a game-high 24 points — gave West Virginia the lead, notching her lone steal of the game to set up the go-ahead jumper out of a timeout.

Signature JJ ⚡

📺 ESPNU | @JJQUINERLY11 pic.twitter.com/gG21t5sbP5

— WVU Women's Basketball (@WVUWBB) March 7, 2025

The Wildcats tried for the lead on a Temira Poindexter three-point shot but the gambit failed. Sydney Shaw collected the rebound with 26 seconds to play, forcing Kansas State to foul, then closed them out with a pair of free throws.

WVU Women’s Basketball advances to face the winner of Friday afternoon’s game between No. 8 TCU and Colorado: that semifinal matchup will take place at 4 p.m. on Saturday, March 8.