FORT MYERS, Fla. – Not even a previously unbeaten team can slow down the West Virginia women’s basketball team.
The 12th-ranked Mountaineers stole Boise State’s mojo and ran away with it in an 82-47 victory in the Gulf Coast Showcase women’s basketball tournament at Hertz Arena on Saturday.
“We were pretty competitive, I liked the energy,” West Virginia coach Mark Kellogg said. “On the defensive end, we sped them up.
“On offense, we really were efficient for three-plus quarters. J.J. (Quinerly) got going early. We’re learning more about ourselves.”
Sydney Shaw had 20 points to lead the Mountaineers (8-0) while Quinerly added 14 and Jordan Thomas 10. WVU also recorded 14 steals, its sixth game of the season with at least that many.
Elodie Lalotte led Boise State with 11 points.
Boise State came in with some solid credentials – wins in its first seven games, including a 50-47 victory over Colorado; a thrilling 79-76 triumph over Illinois State in overtime; and a team that made almost nine 3-pointers a game.
West Virginia still cruised.
Both teams started slow, and when Boise State began having problems with West Virginia’s pressure, the Mountaineers (8-0) turned the turnovers into points.
While the Broncos (7-1) went scoreless for a five-minute stretch, West Virginia went on a 10-0 run to go up 12-3.
After a basket by Quinerly, Jordan Harrison (twice), Kyah Watson and Quinerly all made baskets after the Mountaineers’ defense jumpstarted them in transition.
“From the tip, honestly,” Shaw said of when West Virginia’s pressure defense caused problems. “You see who wants the ball and who doesn’t. We were waiting on opportunities.”
Kellogg added. “They’re a pretty good 3-point shooting team. They had some open looks but I think we rushed them a little and forced them to play a little faster.”
West Virginia kept the pressure on and when Harrison and Sydney Shaw hit 3-pointers, it led 22-6 after the first quarter.
To her surprise, Shaw finished with four treys.
“I just keep a short memory,” she said. “If I’ve missed and I’m open, I’m still going to shoot it.”
The Mountaineers kept the pressure on in the second quarter. An 8-2 run to close the first half put them up 45-23.
They made 54.3% of their shots and 40% of their threes while having eight steals. They had an 18-2 edge in points off turnovers.
West Virginia finished shooting 45.5% (32-of-67) while having a 40-32 rebound advantage.
Notes
Kellogg now is 19-0 in non-conference games. … Quinerly passed the 1,500-point mark, which puts her No. 14 in program history in scoring. … With 23 turnovers forced against Boise State, West Virginia has forced its first eight foes this season to have more than 20 miscues a game. … Watson passed the 600-rebound mark in the win over High Point. … Sydney Woodley’s eight steals against High Point are a Gulf Coast Showcase single-game record.
Up next
West Virginia will play the winner of No. 5 Texas and Butler. If it’s the Longhorns, the Mountaineers will seek a measure of revenge after last year’s 70-49 loss.
They struggled to make 3-pointers in that game.
“(The first two games) didn’t call for us to make 3-pointers so far,” Kellogg said. “(Texas) has the size to take away some looks. We have confidence in our kids that they can make them. We are the eighth-best team in the country with 37-percent shooting so we have the ability to make them.”
-Story by Craig Handel
