MORGANTOWN — West Virginia threw its hat into the ring Monday, and officially set up what will be a wild six-team race to the finish for Big 12 supremacy this season.
J.J. Quinerly poured in 26 points. Kyah Watson tied her WVU-high with 15 rebounds, while also chipping in four assists and four steals.
It all added up to No. 17 West Virginia racing past No. 12 Kansas State 70-57 in front of 4,122 fans inside the Coliseum, handing the Mountaineers their first Quad 1 victory of the season.
“We had a lot of people involved, and that’s what we’ve talked a lot about this year, we’re so much better when we can get four or five people involved,” WVU head coach Mark Kellogg said. “It was just a complete effort for us against a quality opponent. Maybe it will give us a bit of confidence as we move forward and try to finish this thing off.”
Finishing this thing could be a wild ride for the Mountaineers, just as it will be for Kansas State (24-4, 12-3 Big 12), Baylor, TCU, Utah and Oklahoma State.
That’s six schools all within two games of each other and all wanting a Big 12 title.
“It felt like two or three weeks ago that anyone within a game at this point could vie for a conference championship,” Kansas State head coach Jeff Mittie said. “I haven’t looked ahead far enough at everyone’s schedules, but if you’re within a game, then you’ve got an opportunity. I think we’ve got that opportunity, but I think in that group, there’s a lot to play for. There’s conference tournament seeds, there’s top 16 seeds (for the NCAAs). That particular group has a lot to play for right now.”
The Wildcats came into the game in a three-way tie for first place. WVU exited the contest now just 1.5 games behind Baylor and TCU, with the 10th-ranked Horned Frogs up next for WVU (21-5, 11-4) on Sunday.
“This season is up for grabs now,” said Quinerly, who helped break the game wide open with three 3-pointers and 11 points in the third quarter. “It’s a matter of who wants it more.”
Here’s what else the Mountaineers accomplished with the win: WVU picked up its first signature victory of the season.
While solidly positioned in the NCAA’s NET rankings at No. 13, WVU came into the game as the only team in the top 29 without a Quad 1 victory, which would not have looked good to the NCAA selection committee in terms of handing out regional host sites.
WVU got that monkey off its back, beating a top 15-ranked team for the first time since Dec. 8, 2019 or when Quinerly was still a junior in high school.
“It feels good, but I’m not going to overreact to it a ton,” Kellogg said. “There’s still plenty of basketball to play. It’s a really good win for us, I do understand. They were ranked seventh in the NET. That’s a really good win, but I’m not going to do jumping jacks and celebrate.”
Part of that may be because K-State star center Ayoka Lee sat on the bench the entire game in sweats still nursing a fractured foot.
Lee has missed the last eight games — the Wildcats fell to 5-3 without her — and it opens up the question how much credit the NCAA selection committee will give the Mountaineers toward tournament seeding for the win.
“I have no idea,” Kellogg said. “It’s a quality win against a quality team. It’s a Quad 1 win. Players get hurt. It’s a part of our game. We’re continuing to build our resumé, that’s what I would want them to see. This should help that.
“When a player is out, the committee knows you played against Kansas State without Ayoka Lee, but I still think they’ll understand this was a quality Quad 1 win.”
It made no difference to WVU players like Quinerly, who has spent the last four years trying to find ways to score around Lee or over top of her.
“They are still a good team without her,” Quinerly said. “You can’t take anything away from them, so yeah, it’s a good win.”
Jordan Harrison added 18 points for the Mountaineers and freshman Jordan Thomas came off the bench to provide 11 quality points around the rim.
K-State was led by Temira Poindexter’s 17 points, but the Wildcats also turned the ball over 21 times and were held to just 39% (22 of 56) shooting.
