PROVO, Utah — BYU will face off with the 23rd-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers on Saturday, Feb. 3 at 4 p.m. MT at the Marriott Center.
Matchup Breakdown
Saturday’s afternoon matchup will be the second-ever meeting between the Cougars and Mountaineers on the hardwood. The first and only meeting came on Nov. 27, 2021, when BYU knocked off 22nd-ranked West Virginia 58-57 to win the St. Pete Showcase.
All-Time: BYU leads 1-0
In Provo: BYU leads 0-0
In Morgantown: 0-0
At Neutral Site: 1-0
Live play-by-play with Jason Shepherd on BYU Radio 107.9, byuradio.org and the BYU Radio App
BYU RadioBYU Cougars (12-10, 2-7 Big 12 Conference)
THREE-POINT MARKSMAN: Kailey Woolston had herself a day at Allen Fieldhouse on Wednesday, leading the Cougars with a career-high 26 points while also notching career-bests in made field goals (8) and made three-point field goals (6). The two-time Big 12 Freshman of the Week (Nov. 20 & 27) leads the conference and is 5th nationally in 3-point percentage at 46.5 percent, 2nd in the conference and 15th nationally in 3-point field goals made (60) and 2nd in the conference, 22nd nationally in three-pointers per game (2.73).
BEHIND THE 1ST QUARTER 8-BALL: BYU is 2-9 when trailing after the opening quarter this season. In their first nine Big 12 games, the Cougars have trailed after the first 10 minutes in seven of nine contests by an average of 4.9 points, going 0-7 in such games. In their seven Big 12 losses, the Cougars have led for a total of 26:29 (3.8 min/game) with four wire-to-wire losses. In two conference wins, BYU has led for 68:51 (34.5 min/game).
MAGIC NUMBER...66 POINTS OR LESS: Coach Whiting prides her team on their ability to defend. Her defense has held opponents to 65.3 points per game and 12 of its 22 opponents to 66 or fewer points and is 11-1 in such games.
LIGHTING IT UP FROM DEEP...AGAIN: The Cougars shot a blistering 47.5 percent from the floor and 38.9 percent from three in non-conference play, a top-10 mark in the country, and top-2 in the Big 12. In the first six games of conference play, BYU struggled from downtown, shooting 34.6 percent dropping as low as seventh in the conference in three-point percentage. Over the past three games, the Cougars have righted the ship, going 19-for-46 (.413) from behind the loop to jump into second at 36.3 percent during Big 12 play.
Head Coach – Amber Whiting
No. 23 West Virginia Mountaineers (18-2, 17-2 Big 12 Conference)
MOUNTAINEERS ON A HEATER: After dropping back-to-back games against Texas and Iowa State, their only two losses of the season, the Mountaineers have won five straight games. West Virginia has scored no less than 72 points in any of the wins and has held opponents to 52.4 points.
GOTTA PROTECT THE ROCK: The Mountaineers are one of the most prolific defenses that BYU will face this season. West Virginia forces an average of 23.5 turnovers per game in Big 12 play. From those giveaways, they score an average of 24.2 points off turnovers. WVU’s turnover margin of 9.30 leads the nation and the Big 12. The Cougars cough it up 15.7 times per game during conference play and give up an average of 18.4 points off turnovers to opponents.
HANDS IN THE COOKIE JAR: WVU leads the Big 12 in steals per game with 14.6 steals per game. The Mountaineers also have the top four steals leaders in the Big 12 with JJ Quinerly recording 3.3 steals per game, Jordan Harrison with 2.8 and Lauren Fields and Kyah Watson at 2.3 apiece.
JJ QUINERLY: Quinelry has started in all 20 games for West Virginia this season and leads the Mountaineers in scoring at 19.5 points per game on 45.7 percent shooting and steals at 3.3 per contest. She also grabs 3.0 rebounds per game while dishing 3.6 assists per game with a 1.2 assist-to-turnover ratio. The junior was a unanimous selection to the 2023 Big 12 First Team, the Big 12 All-Defensive Team and was named to the Ann Meyers Drysdale Shooting Guard of the Year Top-10 Watchlist. Quinerly has also garnered two Big 12 Player of the Week honors.
Head Coach – Mark Kellogg