MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — In a hard-fought defensive confrontation, Sydney Shaw led the No. 21 West Virginia Mountaineers to a 54-37 victory over No. 24 Oklahoma on Saturday. Shaw contributed 18 points to the team’s effort, helping to secure the win amid a challenging match for the Cowgirls.

Oklahoma entered the game boasting an impressive average of 80 points per game, but they struggled significantly, managing to score in single digits during three quarters. The Cowgirls’ shooting performance was far from their usual standard, as they only connected on 21% of their attempts, including a dismal 2 for 23 from beyond the arc. This was notably their worst shooting display of the season.

For West Virginia, JJ Quinerly was a standout, scoring 15 points while achieving a personal best with eight steals. The Mountaineers, who improved to 17-4 overall and 7-3 in the Big 12 Conference, capitalized on Oklahoma’s mistakes, forcing a total of 21 turnovers and registering 15 steals during the match. In contrast, Alexia Smith emerged as the leading scorer for the Cowgirls, finishing with 15 points and securing 11 rebounds. Nevertheless, the loss ended Oklahoma’s four-game winning streak. Stailee Heard, who had previously led her team in scoring for eight consecutive games, struggled against the Mountaineer defense and only managed to score seven points.

Despite their victory, West Virginia’s scoring was not efficient either, with the team hitting only 4 of 17 shots from three-point range and an overall shooting percentage of 40%. They finished the game with 25 points below their scoring average, marking their lowest output of the season.

The game began with Oklahoma briefly taking a 6-3 lead, but they were unable to score for over 11 minutes afterward. This scoring drought allowed West Virginia to pull ahead, jumping to a 16-6 lead. Oklahoma’s struggles were evident, as they missed seven shot attempts and committed ten turnovers during that period. The first half ended with West Virginia leading 23-14, as the Mountaineers shot 32% compared to the Cowgirls’ 23%, who also missed all of their nine attempts from three-point range.

Quinerly’s performance also saw her ascend the ranks in West Virginia’s history, moving to seventh place in career scoring with 1,757 points, surpassing both Kate Bulger and Rosemary Kosiorek to claim third place in total career steals with 300.

Looking ahead, West Virginia will host Kansas on Wednesday, while No. 11 Kansas State is set to face Oklahoma State next Saturday.