No. 15 West Virginia Tops Temple

The Mountaineers notch their tenth win of the season in first true road game of the season

West Virginia University guard JJ Quinerly / Christopher Hall - West Virginia on SI

PHILADELPHIA – West Virginia had five players hit double figures Sunday afternoon, led by a double double from senior guard Kyah Watson with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Junior forward Célia Rivière put in 12 points, guards Jordan Harrison and JJ Quinerly had 11 and junior guard Sydney Shaw rounded out the five with 10 points as the 15th-ranked Mountaineers (10-1) handled the Temple Owls (5-4), 64-46.

West Virginia started 0-3 from the field and committed two turnovers before junior guard Sydney Shaw hit a three to tie the game at five.

Senior guard JJ Quinerly gave the Mountaineers their first lead of the afternoon with a three from the wing near the midway point of the first quarter.

West Virginia committed six first quarter turnovers but managed to build a five-point lead off the three from senior guard Sydney Woodley, but Temple sophomore guard Kaylah Turner hit a jumper to get the Owls back within three and the Mountaineers took a 16-13 advantage lead into the second quarter.

The Mountaineers steadily built a double-digit lead in the second quarter behind their defense, holding Temple scoreless for nearly six minutes but seven WVU turnovers kept the Owls within reach. Junior guard Jordan Harrison buried a three for three of her five second quarter points and a 27-15 West Virginia lead with three minutes remaining in the first half.

Shaw gave West Virginia its largest first half lead with a midrange jumper late in the second quarter but Temple freshman guard Kelian Cedano hit a three to cut the advantage to 10 and the Mountaineers held a 31-21 lead at halftime.

After West Virginia committed 13 first half turnovers, the Mountaineers valued the basketball in the third quarter and extended their lead in the third quarter. Kyah Watson produced nine third quarter points and a pair of layups early in the period gave WVU a 40-24 lead at the 8:13 mark.

Temple cut the lead to 10 with just under three minutes remaining in the third quarter but threes from Watson and Harris put the Mountaineers back up 16 heading into the final quarter of the game.

West Virginia pulled away in the fourth quarter, holding Temple to just three field goals in the final period while shooting 53.8% from the field to build a 24-point lead before defeating the owls 68-46.