West Virginia has an opponent for their quarterfinal matchup in the Big 12 tournament. They will take on Kansas State on Friday at noon EST in the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri. West Virginia earned a bye after finishing fourth in the regular season with a 13-5 conference record. The winner will advance to the semifinals and keep their chance alive to earn an automatic bid to the 2025 NCAA tournament. Kansas State is currently projected to get the fourth seed, while West Virginia is projected as the sixth seed. It will be a tough matchup, but it does not get any easier this time of year, so here is your WVU women’s basketball Big 12 quarterfinal preview.
West Virginia vs. Kansas State Matchup
These teams met once this season, and West Virginia won 70-57 on February 17. Not much time has passed since they met, and they should be familiar. WVU won the turnover battle in the first meeting, 21 to 12. They smothered the Wildcats on defense. Kyah Watson had four steals and one block, while JJ Quinerly added three steals. She also scored 26 points with four assists and five rebounds. Jordan Harrison scored 18 points as the second-leading scorer for the Mountaineers. Jordan Thomas contributed 11 points off the bench.
READ: JJ Quinerly Named Big 12 Defensive Player Of the Year
Ayoka Lee, Kansas State’s leading scorer, did not play in their first meeting and will not play in the Big 12 tournament. Their second-leading scorer, Serena Sundell, only scored nine points, four below her average of 13.5 for the season, and had six turnovers. Temira Poindexter led the team in scoring with 17 points but had five turnovers. Zyanna Walker added 12 points for the Wildcats, four points above her season average of 8.3.
WVU Women’s Basketball Big 12 Quarterfinal Preview
The Wildcats will not be at full strength without Lee holding down the paint. Kennedy Taylor has picked up more minutes with Lee out. She has played 15 minutes per game over their last three games. The Wildcats played nine players in their first game of the tournament against UCF, so they are spreading the minutes around. Taryn Sides played 30 minutes in that game and scored eight points, with five rebounds and three assists.
The Mountaineers have won four of their last five games by an average margin of 19 points. Their lone loss came in Fort Worth against TCU, now ranked eighth in the AP Top 25. The Mountaineers have four players who play over 30 minutes a game, and they all contribute to the smothering defense. They force their opponents to commit 24.4 turnovers per game, which ranks third in the country. The Wildcats must take care of the ball to hang around in this game. WVU only turns the ball over 15.7 per game, while the Wildcats turn it over 12.8 times. Turnovers will be the difference in this game, and the Mountaineers did a great job of forcing them in their first matchup. It should be an intense matchup as both teams try to gain momentum heading into the NCAA tournament.
Prediction: WVU by 7 points
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Ayoka Lee, Kansas State’s leading scorer, did not play in their first meeting and will not play in the Big 12 tournament. Their second-leading scorer, Serena Sundell, only scored nine points, four below her average of 13.5 for the season, and had six turnovers. Temira Poindexter led the team in scoring with 17 points but had five turnovers. Zyanna Walker added 12 points for the Wildcats, four points above her season average of 8.3.
WVU Women’s Basketball Big 12 Quarterfinal Preview
The Wildcats will not be at full strength without Lee holding down the paint. Kennedy Taylor has picked up more minutes with Lee out. She has played 15 minutes per game over their last three games. The Wildcats played nine players in their first game of the tournament against UCF, so they are spreading the minutes around. Taryn Sides played 30 minutes in that game and scored eight points, with five rebounds and three assists.
The Mountaineers have won four of their last five games by an average margin of 19 points. Their lone loss came in Fort Worth against TCU, now ranked eighth in the AP Top 25. The Mountaineers have four players who play over 30 minutes a game, and they all contribute to the smothering defense. They force their opponents to commit 24.4 turnovers per game, which ranks third in the country. The Wildcats must take care of the ball to hang around in this game. WVU only turns the ball over 15.7 per game, while the Wildcats turn it over 12.8 times. Turnovers will be the difference in this game, and the Mountaineers did a great job of forcing them in their first matchup. It should be an intense matchup as both teams try to gain momentum heading into the NCAA tournament.
Prediction: WVU by 7 points
Great piece!