West Virginia Women Win Backyard Brawl in Pittsburgh 71-62
Ray Anthony Vallorani
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PITTSBURGH,PA.—-The West Virginia University women’s basketball team handed new coach Mark Kellogg his first “Backyard Brawl” victory Saturday afternoon at the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh. The victory marks the sixth straight win in the Backyard Brawl and the first since the last time the two teams met in 2018.
The Mountaineers (2-0) are now 28-19 all time in the Brawl and 11-12 in contests played at the Petersen Events Center.
WVU used a tough defensive effort that forced the Panthers into 28 turnovers. The high intensity defense caused 18 steals for the Mountaineers and amounted to 22 points off turnovers. The 18 steals are the highest by a Mountaineer team since its season opener against USC Upstate (20) last season.
Redshirt junior guard Kyah Watson had her second career double-double, scoring career highs in both rebounds and points. Watson knocked down 19 points and corralled 12 boards, marking the third time in her career she has reached the mark on the glass.
Sophomore guard Jordan Harrison had 10 assists, 7 steals and 6 rebounds. Fifth year senior guard Lauren Fields led West Virginia in scoring with 23 points. She also had three steals and two assists. She finished the game 5 of 8 from beyond the arc. Junior guard JJ Quinerly recorded 18 points while adding three steals.
The Mountaineers led by as many as 19 in the second quarter at 35-16, not allowing Pitt to score until the 5:30 mark. Leading 54-47 with ten minutes to play, WVU held back a Panther comeback. The Mountaineer defense kept the Panthers from any more damage on the way to the 71-62 win.
 WVU returns home to face Youngstown State on Sunday Nov. 19 inside the WVU Coliseum.