No. 18 West Virginia women’s basketball seemed to be correcting their previous weaknesses as they took a break from the scenery of a Texas road trip to waltz to a dominant 79-51 win over Houston on Saturday afternoon.
The Mountaineers (19-4, 9-3) looked every bit the superior team against Houston (5-19, 1-12), demonstrating their elite abilities in every facet of action. They jumped out to a 20-0 run that consumed nearly the entire first period of play on Saturday before the Cougars even found the scoreboard, and from there, they were able to comfortably control the game and run away to a 28-point margin of victory.
The Mountaineers were led by a 20-point performance from senior guard J.J. Quinerly, who contributed 16 in the first quarter alone in a massive performance. Quinerly, an Ann Meyers Drysdale Shooting Guard of the Year Top 10 finalist, was fourth in the Big 12 in scoring with 19 points per game entering the contest.
JJ Quinerly put on a CLINIC today 😤
— Big 12 Studios (@big12studios) February 8, 2025
20 points - 6 assists - 4 rebounds - 3 steals#Big12WBB | @WVUWBB pic.twitter.com/IFMVv2dpmW
There’s not always a ton to takeaway from a dominant win over a team sitting at the bottom of the league standings, but there are some good signs from the WVU performance.
Taking Care of Business When Needed
Your schedule at the collegiate level can often be broken down into tiers -- games that should be a struggle, games that should be a toss-up and could go either way, and games you should win.
One ugly mark on WVU’s resume right now is a loss to Arizona (14-10, 5-6) who sits in the bottom half of the league standings, and a loss to Colorado (16-6, 7-4) also stands out as questionable. Beyond that, the team’s two losses are to No. 4 Texas and No. 25 Oklahoma State -- both acceptable losses, with the loss to the Cowgirls having been redeemed with a win in the rematch for the Mountaineers.
Other than that, the Mountaineers have taken care of business when needed. Houston, the first-game of a road swing out west against a cellar-dwelling conference opponent following consecutive home wins, could have easily ended up a trap game. Instead, WVU was incredibly locked in and efficient and handled business effectively.
Consistency Feeds Good Teams
WVU’s few losses this season have multiple times featured the team in good position to win had it not been for streaky offensive play that reared its head at the worst possible time.
The Mountaineers had outscored their opponent in all 8 previous quarters of play in their most recent wins. While that wasn’t accomplished against the Cougars, WVU didn’t get blown out of the water for any extended periods of play that put the game at risk. And when that’s not always the case, it's reassuring to see that full-game consistency down the stretch of the season.