KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The No. 7-seed WVU women’s basketball team secured a 68-48 win over No. 10-seed TCU in the opening round of the Big 12 Women’s Basketball Championship on Thursday evening, inside Municipal Auditorium.
West Virginia (15-14, 7-11 Big 12) was led by senior guard Madisen Smith, who tallied a game-high 19 points in the win. Smith was joined in double-figure scoring by freshman guard JJ Quinerly, who finished with 16 points.
Fifth-year senior center Blessing Ejiofor led WVU’s rebounding efforts, with a game-high eight boards.
TCU (6-22, 2-16 Big 12) was led by guard Okako Adika, who finished with 17 points and five rebounds.
The Mountaineers led for 36:36 in the game and scored 17 points in every quarter to secure the win. Additionally, WVU’s defense held TCU to 11 points in the first half, including five points in the first quarter.
After TCU opened the game with a 4-1 lead, Smith sank a triple to knot the game up at 4-4. The Mountaineers then strung together two more scores to take an 8-4 lead over the Horned Frogs at the first media break.
Following a TCU free throw, West Virginia ended the opening quarter on a 9-0 run, which included a last-second 3-pointer from sophomore guard Jayla Hemingway. WVU held a 17-5 lead over TCU going into the second period.
West Virginia stretched its lead to 23-7 and outscored TCU, 6-2, to begin the second quarter. A fast-break score at the 5:25 mark put the Mountaineers up, 25-7, the Horned Frogs were forced to call a timeout.
WVU made it a 20-point game following the break with a pair of scores, while TCU also netted a bucket. Following a Mountaineer time, the Horned Frogs scored for the last time in the first half, with 2:37remaining in the second quarter.
West Virginia countered with five unanswered points to close out the frame and take a 34-11 lead over TCU at halftime.
Of note, the Mountaineers held the Horned Frogs to 3 of 22 (14%) from the field and forced 15 turnovers, including nine steals, in the first half.
The two teams played even to begin the second half, as WVU continued to lead by 23. A score by senior forward Kari Niblack put WVU up, 42-17, with just under seven minutes to go in the third quarter. TCU netted a pair of scores before the media break, but the Mountaineers continued to hold a lead of 20-plus at the midway point of the third quarter.
TCU cut West Virginia’s lead to 19 points following the break, as it outscored the Mountaineers, 6-1. West Virginia countered with a 3-pointer by Smith, which put them up 22 with less than a minute to go in the quarter. WVU led TCU, 51-29, heading into the final 10 minutes of the game.
TCU began the final quarter by outscoring West Virginia, 9-2, to cut its deficit to 15 points. The Mountaineers led the Horned Frogs, 53-38, at the fourth quarter media break.
After the Horned Frogs stretched their scoring run to 11-0 and cut the game to 53-40 with 4:31 to play in the game, WVU went on the attack. Over the next three minutes, the Mountaineers outscored the Horned Frogs, 12-2, to jump back out to a 23-point lead with less than two minutes to go.
TCU got three more scores from guard Lauren Heard before it was all said and done, but it wouldn’t be enough, as West Virginia had done enough to secure its 15th win of the season and advance to the Big 12 Championship quarterfinals.
Next up, No. 7-seed West Virginia moves on to face No. 2-seed Iowa State on Friday. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. Friday’s contest against the Cyclones will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.
