MORGANTOWN — J.J. Quinerly moved up to 11th place on West Virginia’s all-time scoring list and then capped off the night with one final steal that set another program record.
The 18th-ranked Mountaineers needed every bit of Quinerly’s scoring and defense Saturday, as the Mountaineers pulled away late for a 66-53 victory against BYU in front of 4,066 fans inside the Coliseum.
“There were a lot of extra possessions, and we needed them, because we weren’t making a whole lot of shots,” WVU head coach Mark Kellogg said.
He wasn’t joking.
WVU (12-2 2-1 Big 12) forced 31 turnovers — 16 with steals — and also grabbed 14 offensive rebounds, yet the Cougars kept finding ways to stick around and only trailed 49-44 in the early stages of the fourth quarter.
“I think it was our execution,” said Quinelry, who finished with 19 points to give her 1,607 for her career. “I don’t think we executed very well today. We’ve just got to hit shots. We got a lot of good looks, but we didn’t see the ball go in.”
The 31 turnovers forced — Quinerly got the last one with her fifth steal of the game with 30 seconds remaining — set a new program high against Big 12 competition, eclipsing the 30 forced against Texas Tech in 2018.
Those turnovers led to 33 points for the Mountaineers. They also got 21 second-chance points off of 14 offensive rebounds, yet BYU (9-5, 0-3) led 30-28 at halftime and WVU didn’t build a double-digit lead until there was 8:24 remaining in the game.
“You’re not going to win with 31 turnovers,” BYU head coach Amber Whiting said. “Granted, seven of them were offensive fouls, which baffled my mind, but West Virginia did its thing. They turn people over, and that’s what happened.”
Quinerly picked up two quick fouls in the first quarter and sat out a portion of the first half.
Without her, WVU’s offense was limited to taking a bunch of 3-pointers and the Mountaineers were held to just 26% (9 of 34) from the floor.
BYU’s halftime lead was just the second time WVU has trailed at the break this season.
“In a weird way, we needed that,” Kellogg said. “Texas was the only other time we trailed at halftime this year, so we hadn’t had that feeling or that experience to draw off of.”
WVU finally pulled away late with post players Jordan Thomas and C.C. Riviere combining for nine points in the fourth quarter, as the Mountaineers kept pushing the ball inside.
“We had to use some different lineups and make some adjustments,” Kellogg continued. “It was good for us to have to go through that.”
Kyah Watson added 10 points and her 3-pointer from the corner with 7:47 left in the third quarter gave the Mountaineers the lead for good, 34-32.
Watson also added nine rebounds and four steals.
“Sometimes I feel like I’m just in the right spot at the right time,” Watson said about her rebounds. “It is something I try to focus on every game.”
BYU freshman Delaney Gibb came into the matchup averaging 17 points per game, but she also picked up two quick fouls and struggled. She finished with nine points and 12 turnovers. The Cougars were led by Emma Calvert, who had a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds.
