WVU women's basketball closed out a three-game stretch this past week in dominant fashion on Sunday as they defeated Texas A&M 63-45 in a crucial non-conference Power 5 road trip. The Mountaineers will now enter Big 12 play next weekend on a four-game winning streak, looking like a different team than the one which lost back-to-back games to Ohio State and Villanova just a few weeks prior. Here are our takeaways from the win.
Kierra "Meme" Wheeler Is Built Different
This isn't the first time Wheeler has been name dropped in a 'post-game takeaways' type of article this season. But it's worth noting how she continues to step up for the Mountaineers, especially now that she's done in it in back-to-back games against Power 5 opponents.
Wheeler finished Sunday's game leading the Mountaineers in two different statistical categories, with 16 points and 10 rebounds. It marks her fourth double-double this season, and it comes three days after she put together a 16-point, 11 rebound performance in a 32-point win over Georgia Tech for WVU.
Rebounding Helps Win The Game For The Mountaineers
This sort of ties into Wheeler's performance, as she was the leading rebounder for the Mountaineers. But Sydney Shaw also put in an impressive performance on the boards with nine rebounds, and Carter McCray add six rebounds in another big effort. With Gia Cooke and Celia Riviere also adding four rebounds apiece, it was a team effort that saw the Mountaineers outrebound the Aggies 39-29.
WVU also did well in particular on the offensive boards, racking up 14 offensive rebounds that helped lead to the Mountaineers converting 16 second-chance points. That type of offensive rebounding can take a team a long way in conference play.
Early-Season Issues May Be In The Past
The Mountaineers showed some cause for concern in back-to-back losses a few weeks earlier, and they saw themselves eventually snubbed from their previous spot in the AP Poll this week because of that.
But with the Texas A&M win, WVU has now defeated two Power 5 opponents in three days by a combined 48 points, and are showing no sign of the team that struggled in those previous two marquee non-conference games. It seems that the Mountaineers may have got their issues worked out.