MORGANTOWN ֱ JJ Quinerly of the West Virginia University womenֱs basketball team was the 27th pick in the third round of the 2025 WNBA Draft b…
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MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (WV News) ֱ The West Virginia University womenֱs basketball team picked up a 60-56 win over Oklahoma State on Sunday afternoon, inside the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown.
West Virginiaֱs (13-13, 6-10 Big 12) offense was powered by senior forward Kari Niblack, who finished with a game-high 15 points, and was one of three Mountaineers to finish the game in double figures.
The Leesburg, Florida, native was joined in the double-figure scoring column by junior forward Esmery Martinez and freshman guard JJ Quinerly, who tallied 12 points apiece.
Martinez hauled in a game-high 14 rebounds to lead WVU on the glass and tally her eighth double-double of the season. The junior forward now has 23 double-doubles in her career and is now tied with Maria Tchobanova (1996-99) for No. 6 in program history in the category.
Oklahoma State (8-17, 3-13 Big 12) was led by forward Macie James, who led the team with 14 points.
ֱI thought the other night against Texas Tech we were quick in getting to the ball, and tonight, we were slow,ֱ WVU coach Mike Carey said. ֱThey took the one-point lead, and we went on a six, seven-point run which was good. We executed down the stretch and were able to get the win.ֱ
After Niblack got WVU on the board with the first four points of the game, Oklahoma State countered with a 3-pointer before taking the lead on a score from Lexy Keys. Martinez sank a 3 to give the Mountaineers a 7-5 lead at the 5:41 mark of the first, but the Cowgirls quickly responded to tie it back up. West Virginia held a 9-7 lead over Oklahoma State at the media timeout thanks to a score from fifth-year senior center Blessing Ejiofor.
WVU fell behind after the break, as OSU netted four points to take a 11-9 lead. The Mountaineers tacked on four free throws to end the quarter, which gave them an 13-11 advantage heading into the second period.
Niblack netted four points to begin the second to get into double figures and push West Virginiaֱs lead to 17-13. Oklahoma State responded by sinking a trio of 3ֱs, which forced WVU to call a timeout with 6:28 to play in the half. The Mountaineers trailed the Cowgirls, 22-17, at that point.
Coming out of the break, senior guard Madisen Smith sank a triple to halt OSUֱs run and cut the deficit to 22-20. After the Mountaineers tied the game with a pair of free throws, the Cowgirls quickly countered with another 3 and two free throws of their own to take a 26-22 lead with 4:11 to go in the half.
West Virginia ended the quarter on a 12-2 run, which included a pair of 3-pointers from Quinerly and sophomore guard Savannah Samuel, to take a 34-28 lead over Oklahoma State at halftime.
The two teams played even to begin the third quarter, as WVU continued to hold a four-point lead over OSU. The Mountaineers showed a 38-32 advantage over the Cowgirls at the media break, with 4:56 to play in the frame.
Following a WVU tally at the stripe, the two teams traded scores following the timeout, as the Mountaineers continued to lead by seven. A score by Quinerly put West Virginia up by nine with 2:14 to play in the quarter, which forced OSU to call timeout.
Each team added a free throw to close out the period, and WVU went into the fourth quarter with a 46-37 lead.
Oklahoma State opened the fourth quarter on a 10-2 run, which cut West Virginiaֱs lead to 48-47 with 6:18 to play in the game. The two then traded scores, as the Mountaineers made it to the media break with a one-point lead
After Keys scored to give the Cowgirls the lead at the 4:17 mark, WVU ripped off a 7-0 run over the next three minutes to jump ahead by six. The Mountaineers held a 57-51 advantage with 1:29 remaining in the fourth.
OSU responded to the West Virginia scoring flurry with four points of its own to cut the game to 57-55 with 30 seconds left to play. However, that was as close as Oklahoma State would get, as West Virginia would score three more points down the stretch to secure its 13th victory of the season.
Next up, West Virginia travels to Manhattan, Kansas, on Wednesday, March 2, for a showdown against Kansas State. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. inside Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan. Wednesdayֱs game against the Wildcats will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. ֱ The West Virginia womenֱs basketball team embarks on a two-game road trip this weekend, beginning on Saturday as the Mountaineers get set to travel to No. 10 Baylor.
Tipoff against the Bears is set for 6 p.m. inside the Ferrell Center in Waco, Texas. Saturdayֱs contest will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+, with John Morris, Jim Haller and Brooke Bednarz on the call. Additionally, fans can listen to the game on the WVU Gameday App, WVUsports.com, Sirius XM Channel 375 or on the Mountaineer Sports Network, including 100.9 WZST-FM, with Dan Zangrilli on the call. Live stats will be available on WVUsports.com.
West Virginia (11-10, 4-7 Big 12) is seeking its fourth win in the series against Baylor (18-5, 8-3 Big 12). BU leads the all-time series, 21-3. The Mountaineersֱ last win against the Bears in Waco came on March 2, 2014, by a score of 71-69.
In the first meeting between the two teams this season, then-No. 11 BU defeated WVU, 87-54, on Jan. 29 inside the WVU Coliseum. Junior forward Esmery Martinez tallied a team-high 13 points in the loss and also hauled in six rebounds to pace WVU on the glass.
Baylor has won eight of its last nine contests dating back to Jan. 16, when it defeated Kansas, 82-79, at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas. Additionally, BU enters Saturdayֱs contest on a three-game win streak.
Last time out, the Bears defeated Kansas State, 95-50, on Wednesday in Waco. Senior guard Jordan Lewis led the BU scoring attack with 24 points, good for her third performance of 20 points or more this season. Senior center Queen Egbo paced Baylor on the boards by hauling in 16 rebounds.
The Bearsֱ 95 points against the Wildcats were a season high for the team. Additionally, of Baylorֱs 35 made field goals in the game, 30 were credited with an assist.
BU continues to be led by senior forward NaLyssa Smith, who is averaging team bests in points (20.9) and rebounds (11.2) per game. Smith is one of four Bears averaging 10 or more points per contest this season.
Last time out, West Virginia suffered a 65-47 loss to Kansas on Feb. 9 in Morgantown. Freshman guard JJ Quinerly led the Mountaineersֱ scoring attack with a career-best 22 points, which led all scorers. Of note, 15 of those tallies came in the third quarter.
Over the last three games, Quinerly is leading WVU in total points (46), scoring average (15.3), 3-point field goal percentage (.571), field goals made (18) and steals (7).
Additionally, the Norfolk, Virginia, native is one of four Mountaineers averaging double figures in scoring during that stretch. She is joined by senior guard Madisen Smith (14.0), senior forward Kari Niblack (13.0) and fifth-year senior forward Ari Gray (11.0).
Niblack has served as WVUֱs leading rebounder over the last three contests, hauling in 22 in that span while averaging 7.3 boards per game.
AUSTIN, Texas ֱ The West Virginia University womenֱs basketball team fell to No. 13 Texas, 73-57, on Saturday night at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin.
West Virginiaֱs (8-6, 1-3 Big 12) scoring efforts were co-led by junior guard KK Deans and freshman guard JJ Quinerly, who each tallied 19 points in the game. Junior forward Esmery Martinez tallied five rebounds to pace WVU on the glass.
Deans and Quinerly accounted for 38 of WVUֱs 57 points scored.
Texas (12-3, 2-2 Big 12) saw four players finish the game in double figures, including guard Aliyah Matharu, who tallied a game-high 26 points.
Deans opened game scoring with a baseline jumper, which led to a 7-0 run for the Mountaineers early in the contest.
After Texas missed its first five shots of the game, UT broke its scoring drought at the line but WVU countered on the other end to make it a 10-2 game.
The Longhorns then rattled off a 7-0 run of their own, which cut West Virginiaֱs lead to one at the first media timeout.
Deans scored seven of WVUֱs first 10 points to begin the contest.
Texas took the lead with a pair of free throws coming out of the break, and then added another bucket in transition. West Virginia found themselves trailing after UT ripped off a 15-1 following its first score.
Quinerly halted the Longhornsֱ onslaught, and fifth-year senior forward Ari Gray added a score before the quarter ended, but WVU trailed, 19-15, at the end of the first.
West Virginia found themselves behind 23-15 to begin the second period, as Texas netted back-to-back, putback scores.
After the Longhorns extended their run to 6-0, WVU was forced to call timeout.
UT continued to score following the break, as WVU found itself in a scoring drought for the next four minutes.
Another steal-and-score by Quinerly got the Mountaineers back on the board. The two teams played even for the next three minutes, but two scores by Texas increased the deficit to 15 points with 1:35 remaining.
West Virginia got three points before the end of the quarter and trailed at halftime by 14.
West Virginia fell behind by 23 to begin the second half, as the Longhorns opened the third quarter on an 13-2 run. Senior forward Kari Niblack got a score before the media break, where the Mountaineers trailed, 52-31, with 4:38 to go in the period.
West Virginia finished the quarter the quarter on a 9-4 run, which included four points from Deans and a 3-pointer for Quinerly. The Mountaineers trailed Texas, 56-40, heading into the final 10 minutes of regulation.
The two teams traded to begin the fourth quarter, but five points from Quinerly made it a 62-49 game in favor of Texas with 5:12 remaining in the game.
Despite the Mountaineersֱ attack, Texas continued to counter on the other end. WVU called a timeout with 3:48 to go and trailed by 15.
WVU continued to attack, and UT continued to counter for the remainder of the game. A jumper by Deans cut deficit to 14 with 52 seconds to go, but that was as close at the Mountaineers would get, as they fell to Longhorns, 73-57.
Next up, West Virginia returns to Morgantown to square off against No. 23 Oklahoma on Wednesday.
Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. inside the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown. Wednesdayֱs contest against the Sooners will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. ֱ The West Virginia University womenֱs basketball team picked up its first Big 12 Conference win of the season after defeating Texas Tech, 64-53, on Wednesday evening at the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown.
In a back-and-forth affair, West Virginia (8-5, 1-2 Big 12) managed to outscore Texas Tech (8-7, 1-3 Big 12) in three of four quarters, including 20 points in the second quarter. The Mountaineers led by as many as 11 points in a game that featured eight lead changes and one tie. WVU also forced 21 Lady Raider turnovers in the game.
ֱI thought we played great defense for the majority of the game,ֱ WVU coach Mike Carey said. ֱWe didnֱt block out well. Third quarter again, I donֱt have the answer. I don't know. I tried to run some things that we don't normally run, try to get them moving, we just struggled in the third quarter to score again and come out and let them take the lead. Fourth quarter, I thought we played great defense, started rebounding a bit better, and got some scores. (We) hit our foul shots down the stretch so that was big.ֱ
WVU was co-led in scoring by junior guard KK Deans and senior guard Madisen Smith, who each tallied 15 points. Additionally, freshman guard JJ Quinerly finished the game with 11 points. Junior forward Esmery Martinez paced West Virginia on the glass with seven rebounds.
Fifth-year senior center Yemiyah Morris netted the first score of the game just 18 seconds into the game, but neither team scored for the next five minutes. Smith stopped the drought with 4:53 remaining in the first quarter with a fast-break layup. Tech countered with its first basket of the game to make it a 4-2 game at the first media timeout.
West Virginia came out of the break and scored five points, including a Deansֱ 3-pointer. On the other end, TTU countered with six points of its own, as the Mountaineers led, 9-8, at the end of the first quarter.
Texas Tech took its first lead to open the second quarter, but a Jasmine Carson triple and a trio of free throws helped WVU jump back out in front, 15-10. An and-one conversion from Techֱs Vivian Gray cut WVUֱs lead to two with 7:29 to go. Quinerly scored a pair of baskets heading into the media break, as the Mountaineers stretched their lead to seven points.
The Lady Raiders netted five tallies after the break to cut WVUֱs advantage back to two, but a pair of scores from Quinerly and Smith kept TTU at bay. West Virginia continued to hold off Tech defensively for the remainder of the quarter, as Quinerly and Smith continued to add to the Mountaineersֱ lead. West Virginia led Texas Tech, 29-22, at halftime.
The Mountaineers surrendered 10 points to begin the third quarter, which forced them to call a timeout and gave the Lady Raiders the lead. Although Deans scored coming out of the timeout to stop the run, Texas Tech answered on its end before the media break.
WVU cut the deficit to one a few times following the timeout and eventually took the lead on a baseline drive from Quinerly with 3:03 to go in the quarter. On the other end, TTU got the lead back with a 3, but fifth-year senior forward Ari Gray tied the game up a few possessions later. West Virginia continued to keep the game within reach for the remainder of the period but trailed Texas Tech, 46-45, heading into the fourth quarter.
After Texas Tech increased its lead to three points to begin the fourth, West Virginia rattled off a 7-0 run to retake the advantage with 3:15 to go in the game, as the Mountaineers were up 52-48. The Lady Raiders added another score, but another scoring run stretched the lead to 10 points and kept WVU out in front. Tech continued its efforts to chip away at the WVU lead, but four more free throws helped the Mountaineers hang on late and earn their first Big 12 win of the season.
Next up, West Virginia squares off against No. 13/12 Texas in Austin on Saturday, Jan. 15. Tipoff against the Longhorns is scheduled for 8 p.m., and will be broadcast on the Longhorn Network.