MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Entering the final third in their 18-game Big 12 Conference slate, No. 20 West Virginia collected their most lopsided victory in league play since Dec. 21 with an 87-68 win over Arizona. The Mountaineers shook off a sluggish start to earn their tenth Big 12 win, keeping pace with TCU and Baylor atop the conference.
“I didn’t like the first five (minutes). I didn’t like the last five. I hated our defense in the third quarter. Outside of that, I guess I was somewhat pleased,” said WVU head coach Mark Kellogg.
“For the most part, we got going and we did what we did. At times, we got better at what we do.”
Five Mountaineers scored in double digits. Kierra Wheeler led the way with 17 points and she was followed by Sydney Shaw (16), Jordan Harrison (14), Gia Cooke (13) and Cici Riviere (10).
Trailing 11-5 five minutes into the opening frame, WVU closed the first quarter on a 10-2 run to build a 23-17 lead heading into the second quarter. Jordan Harrison beat the first-quarter buzzer with a three-pointer.
“That was definitely a push in the back for everybody,” Shaw said. “It was a great shot and great timing.”
“I think we just saw what we were doing wrong and what we could do better and how we usually start on teams. I just think we locked in a little better on certain things we were missing like our press and back in our zone,” Cooke said.
“Coach gets on us about having a full game on offense and defense. Reaching our goals and hitting our marks that we want to keep people under, less turnovers and things like that. We just have to put a full game together coming down the line.”
West Virginia scored the first eight points in the second quarter and they held a double-digit advantage the rest of the way.
West Virginia made 9-of-14 attempts from three-point range in the opening half.
“We hadn’t shot it as well at home actually as we had on the road,” Kellogg said. “To shoot 50 percent and 44 percent from three is great. We’ll be better offensively, of course, if we can make perimeter shots.”
“I think it is almost night and day,” Shaw said. “I feel like we are very good in the paint and we dominate the paint. When we are able to spread the floor out and make them play honestly instead of packing the paint because we are hitting shots, it makes it so much harder to guard.”
Riviere had her most productive game since the start of conference play. In 20 minutes, the 6-foot-3 forward had ten points, four assists and four rebounds while finishing a team-best plus-31.
“The way they hard hedge those ball screens and jump you a little bit, we don’t see that all the time,” Kellogg said. “But Cici’s passing ability helps in that. I told the staff I think coming in that may be an opportunity for her to kind of thrive in that situation.”
The Mountaineers forced 29 Arizona turnovers. Harrison collected eight of WVU’s 13 steals. WVU had 21 assists on their 34 made shots.
West Virginia (20-5, 10-3 Big 12) has won three consecutive games to remain firmly in the mix for the Big 12 Conference regular season championship. TCU and Baylor (9-2 Big 12) both play later this weekend.
“We have a standings board in our locker room and film room area,” Kellogg said. “They can see that. They know what it looks like. We bring it up a little bit.”
On Alumni Day at Hope Coliseum, dozens of former WVU women’s basketball players, including Dallas Wings guard JJ Quinerly, were in attendance and were honored in between the first and second quarters.
“They are welcomed here and that’s what I want them to feel,” Kellogg said. “They get to come together, whether they have two or three that they played with or they can reminisce off different decades. They have stories to tell. They have fond memories of this place. If anything, that’s what I want my players to take from it.”
Tanyuel Welch led Arizona (11-12, 2-10 Big 12) with 17 points.
WVU remains at home to host UCF on Wednesday.