No. 16 Mountaineers Handle Tigers in Season Opener

West Virginia opens the season with a dominating win over Towson

West Virginia University guard Jordan Harrison / Christopher Hall - West Virginia on S

Morgantown, WV – West Virginia junior guard Jordan Harrison scored a game-high 23 points while junior guard Sydney Shaw buried five threes for 19 points as the Mountaineers crushed the Towson Tigers Tuesday night in the season opener 85-41.

Towson junior guard Semaya Turner earned a trip to the foul line to begin the game and hit both free throws for the game’s first points.

Jordan Harrison put the Mountaineers on the board with a three and a lay-in by senior guard Kyah Watson gave WVU a 5-2 lead early in the first period.

The Tigers battled in the first quarter and a second opportunity after a missed free throw tied the game at five.

Harrison put the Mountaineers up for but consecutive threes from Towson junior guard India Johnston tied the game at 11 near the midway point of the first period.

West Virginia struggled from the field in the first half, shooting 5-13, and committed six turnovers to keep the Tigers within one at the end of the first period, 14-13.

Senior guard Jordan Wakefield gave the Tigers an 18-16 lead at the 7:36 mark of the second period, but Sydney Shaw buried her first of three threes during a 13-0 run as the Mountaineers grabbed a 29-18 lead at the midway point of the second period.

Freshman guard Shariah Baynes ended the run with a three and a second chance opportunity cut the West Virginia lead to six, but Harrison responded with a 7-0 run of her own to extend the Mountaineers advantage 13 as WVU took a 38-25 lead in to halftime. Harrison had 18 points at the break.

West Virginia maintained its 13-point advantage midway through the third period before a 19-2 run swelled the lead to 30 with 1:27 remaining in the third quarter, with senior guard JJ Quinerly scoring eight of her 10 third period points during the stretch. Quinerly finished the evening with 14 points.

The Mountaineers continued their dominance in the fourth period and built their largest lead off 44 in the final minute for the 85-41 victory.