To get out of the woods of Big 12 women’s basketball, you have to survive the Bear.

West Virginia did that for the first time since 2017, topping No. 18 Baylor, 74-65, at the WVU Coliseum on Sunday to extend its winning streak to three games.

It’s also the first win over a ranked foe for Dawn Plitzuweit in her WVU tenure.

J.J. Quinerly scored 18, and Jayla Hemingway had a career day with 16 points and 14 rebounds. Madisen Smith also scored 16, and Kylee Blacksten put in 15 for West Virginia.

The Mountaineers led 23-14 after one quarter and went up by 14 in the second, but the Lady Bears counter-punched with a 16-1 run to grab a 34-33 halftime advantage. Baylor led by 10 in the third quarter, but West Virginia rallied to tie things at 57 heading to the fourth.

The victory over Baylor followed a 77-45 shellacking of TCU on Wednesday at the Coliseum.

Smith contributed 18 points and eight assists, while Savannah Samuel added 13 points and Quinerly 11.

WVU dominated the first quarter, leading 17-4, before falling back to the pack a bit in the second quarter, leading 31-23 at the break.

No problem: The Mountaineers outscored the Horned Frogs 26-7 in the third quarter to turn the conference contest into a laugher, earning their ninth win in the last 10 meetings in the series.

West Virginia (12-4, 3-2 Big 12) visits Kansas on Wednesday at 8 p.m.

The No. 5 rifle team tied the national smallbore record with 2,371 points against No. 2 Alaska-Fairbanks, No. 3 Kentucky and No. 16 Georgia Southern on Saturday.

“Our smallbore was excellent,” WVU coach Jon Hammond said, in a bit of an understatement. “We had some big personal bests and tying the national record is a reflection of the performance.”

WVU also tied its school aggregate record of 4,751, but lost by one point to host Alaska-Fairbanks.

Mary Tucker shared first overall with a 1,193 score (594 smallbore, 599 air rifle).

“We had more really good scores in air rifle and, overall, tied our school record from last semester,” Hammond said.

WVU also was narrowly defeated by Alaska-Fairbanks on Friday, 4744-4736, despite a 1,191 from Tucker.

It was also a record week on the track as Cassandra Williamson finished the 600 meter race in 1:32.02 to eclipse Keri Bland’s 2010 mark of 1:33.32.

Mikenna Vanderheyden won the 800 in 2:11.80.

“This is the first time in a decade that we have opened up our season on the road,” coach Sean Cleary said. “While it’s a little earlier than in the past, we still came home with a few victories, a few indoor best performances and a few lifetime best performances.”

Women’s soccer defender Gabrielle Robinson is joining a loaded team in the National Women’s Soccer League.

Robinson was picked 15th overall by the Kansas City Current in Thursday’s draft in Philadelphia.

She joins a roster that already boasts Women’s World Cup winners AD Franch, Morgan Gautrat and Samantha Mewis and just added Brazilian star Debinha after a run to the NWSL championship game last fall.

KC has a ton of ambition as well; the franchise is building a riverfront stadium that will open in 2024.

Robinson was an all-Big 12 selection as a senior, playing 1,591 minutes, and is the sixth Mountaineer drafted into the NWSL.

Freshly minted as the No. 24 team in the nation after knocking off a ranked Pitt team, the West Virginia wrestlers won their first two bouts to break a 16-all tie and defeat Chattanooga away on Friday, 22-16.

Jordan Titus (141 pounds, 6-2 decision) and No. 24 Sam Hillegas (149, 12-10 decision) provided the late heroics.

WVU also had winning performances from Alex Hornfeck (157, 3-2 decision), No. 8 Peyton Hall (165, pin in 4:50), No. 20 Michael Wolfgram (HWT, 13-8 decision) and No. 7 Killian Cardinale (125, 10-2 major decision).

Next, WVU has a pair of tough Big 12 road duals against Oklahoma State on Friday and No. 13 Oklahoma State on Sunday.

The West Virginia gymnastics team opened its home schedule with a second-place finish in a very competitive meet, scoring 195.1 to beat Kent State (194.475) and fall to Maryland (195.425).

Kianna Yancey shone, winning the all-around with a career-high score of 39.25, posting a 9.85 on floor, 9.825 on vault, 9.8 on bars and 9.775 on beam.

Emily Holmes-Hackerd (9.85 on floor), Abbie Pierson (9.825 on floor), Kiana Lewis (9.825 on bars), Anna Leigh (9.8 on floor), Kendra Combs (9.775 on beam) and Chloe Asper (9.775 on beam) were also notables.

WVU is at Towson on Friday against the hosts as well as New Hampshire and West Chester at 6 p.m. before Towson returns the visit along with Iowa State and Eastern Michigan on Jan. 29 at 2 p.m. at the WVU Coliseum.

The WVU men’s and women’s swimming teams lost to Pitt over the weekend.

“Overall, a very good effort today,” WVU coach Vic Riggs said. “Though, it’s always tough to lose a meet, we had a lot of bright spots today for both teams.”

The women (lost 182-116) picked up individual wins from Mia Cheatwood (100 breast, 1:02.15; 200 breast, 2:17.88), Jacqueline McCutchan (100 free, 52.70 seconds), Abby Reardon (200 free, 1:51.87).

For the men (lost 183-115), Conner McBeth won both the 50 free (20.31 seconds) and 100 free (44.40), while William Mullen claimed the 1,000 free in 9:22.76 and Danny Berlitz touched first in the 400 IM in 3:52.71.

WVU won both 400 free relays, with Cheatwood, Reardon, McCutchan and Ada Szwabinska touching in 3:25.65 and Max Nielsen, Braden Osborn, Roanoke Shirk and McBeth getting the job done in 3:00.98.

The women are at Iowa State on Saturday at 12 p.m.

Randy Mazey made an in-state addition for the future this week as well, snaring former Independence High infielder Michael McKinney in the transfer portal from NC State.

Since McKinney spent the fall semester in Raleigh, he won’t be eligible to play for the Mountaineers in 2023, but will still have four seasons to play.

McKinney hit .412 with eight home runs for the Patriots as a senior last spring.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The West Virginia women’s basketball team (12-4, 3-2 Big 12) returns to the road for a midweek matchup at Kansas on Wednesday in Lawrence, Kansas.

Tipoff against the Jayhawks is set for 8 p.m. ET, inside Allen Fieldhouse.

Wednesday’s contest against KU will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Josh Klingler and Brenda VanLengen on the call. The game also can be heard on the Varsity Network app, with Andrew Caridi on the call. Live stats and game notes will be available on WVUsports.com.

West Virginia is 16-6 all time against Kansas, including 8-3 in games played in Lawrence. WVU has won 13 of the past 15 meetings with the Jayhawks dating back to Feb. 10, 2015. That includes 10 consecutive unbeaten matchups from Feb. 10, 2015, to Feb. 27, 2021.

Last season, Kansas claimed both contests, beginning with a 65-47 win in Morgantown before recording a 74-63 victory in Lawrence.

Kansas enters Wednesday’s matchup with an overall record of 12-4 and a 2-3 mark in Big 12 play. The Jayhawks are coming off a pair of losses last week, with their most recent defeat coming to then-No. 19 Oklahoma, 74-80, on Saturday.

West Virginia is coming off a big, 74-65 win over then-No. 18 Baylor on Sunday inside the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown.

The victory marked the Mountaineers’ first over the Bears since March 6, 2017, when WVU claimed the 2017 Big 12 Tournament title. The win also was West Virginia’s first win over Baylor at home in program history.

Sophomore guard JJ Quinerly (18), fifth-year senior guard Madisen Smith (16), senior guard Jayla Hemingway (16) and junior forward Kylee Blacksten (15) all finished in double figures to lead the Mountaineers to the upset win.

Hemingway recorded her second double-double of the season, posting 16 points and a career-best 14 rebounds.

Entering Wednesday’s contest, West Virginia leads the Big 12 Conference in scoring defense as it is holding opponents to just 56.3 points per game this season. WVU ranks No. 31 nationally in the category.

The Mountaineers also lead the league in turnover margin (8.12) and steals per game (10.7). Additionally, the Mountaineers are second in the league in turnovers forced per game (20.88).

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (WV News) — There's a new show in town, folks, and maybe we all ought to look in on it, considering the trend in West Virginia sports of late.

On Sunday, West Virginia's women's basketball team beat No. 17 Baylor, 74-65.

This was more than just the team's 12th win in 16 games, its third in a row and fifth in seven games.

It was an announcement that West Virginia is back.

This may not have been the Brittney Griner and coach Kim Mulkey teams of the National Championship days, but it remained a nationally ranked power and at a school where the men's basketball team is letting the season slip through its fingers and where the football team has fumbled away all those high hopes that coach Neal Brown brought with him, this is something real and promising to grab hold of.

Good thing, too, because the mood had really turned sour in these parts, with bowl games and post-season play seemingly belonging to an earlier generation while this generation wanted something successful to grab hold of and to claim its own.

It is being brought to you by a new coach who accepted a torch that was flickering out under the veteran Mike Carey and who is determined to see that you — and this notorious butcher of names — learn to spell Dawn Plitzuweit.

She has come in with no promises, no boasts. Simply with a down-to-earth attitude that stresses the fun part of fundamentals and that relies upon an all-for-one, one-for-all approach to the game of basketball.

She owns a national championship at the Division II level at Grand Valley State and served an apprenticeship for Big 12 coaching at South Dakota compiled a overwhelming record of 158-36,winning three consecutive Summit League titles, earning four NCAA Tournament invitations, including one a Sweet 16 appearance in 2022.

That, coupled with an upset victory over the nation's No. 7 team last year earned her a shot at the big time.

By the way, that No. 7 team was Baylor, the same Baylor that she victimized at the Coliseum on Sunday in what was her first victory over a nationally ranked team at WVU, to say nothing of it being WVU's first victory over Baylor since March 6, 2017, when Carey's Mountaineers stunned them to claim the 2017 Big 12 Tournament title.

There were two items worth noting about the way WVU reacted to its win over the Bears.

The first was the unbridled glee they displayed after pulling off a comeback victory in a game they looked as if they would never find a way to win. The second was that they seemed to leave the glow behind by the time they left the locker room and acted as if it was nothing more than what they expected and were moving forward with so much more to prove.

It was so much of the fabric that this team is made of that it was what made up one of the most key plays in the game. WVU had taken the ball up the court in transition in the fourth quarter with a five-point lead, point guard Madisen Smith attacking the basket.

But, as she got down low, she realized that she would be putting up a difficult shot. Instead, she turned and spotted Kylee Blacksten out at the 3-point line. Quickly, she seized the moment, pitched the ball out and Blacksten canned a 3.

There was no celebration at the moment, though. In fact, Blacksten said the importance of the shot didn't even hit her then.

"For me, it normally hits after the game. At that moment, I'm thinking 'What do I have to do now? What's the next scenario?'" she said.

And, besides, she didn't feel she had done so much that she was fine to let the celebration go to Smith, who made the play possible with her recognition of the situation and pass.

"It was such a huge thing for Maddy to do that. She was celebrating everything and was giving us so much energy. It helped everything. It gave us more energy and we were running faster, all of it," Blacksten said.

The second item was Plitzuweit taking it more low-key than you might expect.

at"I thought our kids battled," she said. "Our discipline and toughness was really, really good. When we didn't have it, they scored. They scored quickly and efficiently, but we are getting better and had some toughness and made some plays. That was fun to see."

The key words were "getting better" for this is a work in progress and Plitzuweit knows she doesn't yet have all the parts in place. She's still learning her players, her players are learning her and her system ... but they have three straight Big 12 wins now.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The West Virginia women’s basketball team concludes its two-game homestand Sunday as the Mountaineers play host to No. 18 Baylor for the annual “I Belong” Diversity & Inclusion Game, presented by Buffalo Wild Wings. Tipoff against the Lady Bears is set for 3 p.m. inside the WVU Coliseum.

The “I Belong” Game is a celebration of diversity and inclusion in Morgantown. The event is a collaborative effort between the WVU Athletics Department, the Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and the Department of Student Engagement and Leadership. WVU student and Morgantown area organizations will set up pregame table displays on the concourse prior to tipoff. Booths may feature activities, informational sheets and giveaways promoting diversity & inclusion within different organizations.

Gates at the WVU Coliseum will open at 1:30 p.m. to allow fans ample time to browse the table displays.

Sunday’s matchup will be broadcast live on the Mountaineer Sports Network, including 100.9 WSZT-FM, with Andrew Caridi and John Antonik on the call. Fans also can listen to the game on the Varsity Network App.

Additionally, Sunday’s game will be nationally broadcast on ESPNU with Roy Philpott and Brooke Weisbrod on the call. Live stats and game notes will be available on WVUsports.com.

Tickets for Sunday’s contest can be purchased at WVUGAME.com or by visiting the Mountaineer Ticket Office, located inside the Gold Gate of the WVU Coliseum.

Sunday’s matinee marks the 26th all-time meeting between WVU (11-4, 2-2 Big 12) and Baylor (12-4, 3-1 Big 12). The Bears lead the all-time series 22-3, including 10-0 in games played in Morgantown.

West Virginia is coming off a 77-45 win over TCU in Morgantown on Tuesday. Fifth-year senior guard Madisen Smith led the team in scoring for the fifth time this season, recording 18 points and shooting 5 of 9 from the field (55.5%). Junior guard Savannah Samuel and sophomore guard JJ Quinerly joined Smith in double figures, adding 13 and 11 points, respectively.

As a team, West Virginia shot 45.3% (29 of 64) from the field as well as 36.4% (8 of 22) from 3-point range.

The Mountaineers led TCU in nearly every category, including turnovers forced (19-10), points in the paint (30-24) and bench points (34-13) while the two teams tied with 38 rebounds apiece.

On the season, sophomore guard JJ Quinerly paces West Virginia in scoring at 13 points per game. She is joined in double figures by Smith with 12.9 points per game.

The Mountaineers lead the Big 12 Conference in scoring defense (55.7), turnover margin (8.27) and steals per game (11.0).

Baylor and West Virginia each came into Wednesday’s Big 12 clash at the WVU Coliseum desperately searching for a league victory.

Both had started off conference play 0-3 despite going right down to the wire in most of those losses.

Only one was going to get off the schneid, though, and that turned out to be BU, which outlasted the Mountaineers in snatching an 83-78 win.

WVU is now 10-6 overall, as well as 0-4 in the Big 12. The Bears, who had lost their previous two games by a total of three points, are 11-5 and 1-3.

“It was another Big 12 game that came down to one or two possessions,” noted Baylor head coach Scott Drew, whose Bears won the NCAA title two years ago. “We’ve been on the short end of the last couple, so we’re grateful to God that we could get a victory tonight.”

After struggling to hit shots in Saturday’s 76-62 loss to Kansas, when it made just 35% of its field goal attempts and only 20% of its 3-point tries, West Virginia’s subpar offensive trend continued in the first half against Baylor. WVU managed to convert just 32.3% of its shots (10 of 31) and was a mere 1 of 12 from 3-point range (8.3%) in the opening 20 minutes. The Bears were better in that stint (44% on FGs and 46% on 3s) and took a 33-27 lead into halftime.

The Mountaineers finally found their offensive stroke in the second half, though. They erased the BU lead in the initial eight minutes of the second period, and from there, the battle was on. The two combatants exchanged the lead eight times, and it was tied six times over the next nine minutes. A 6-0 Bear run in the final few minutes gave the visitors an advantage they wouldn’t relinquish, though West Virginia had the Baylor lead down to 80-78 with 11 seconds remaining. After a bucket, WVU couldn’t get the turnover it needed on the ensuing inbound pass. Instead, Baylor’s fantastic freshman, Keyonte George, who had 32 points, got the ball and was quickly fouled. He made just one of his two free throws, though, leaving the door open for the Mountaineers, who were down three. WVU guard Joe Toussaint hustled the ball up the court, but his 3-point attempt to tie the game banged off the rim, and with it went West Virginia’s chance of a victory.

“Whoever gets the open look takes the shot,” explained Toussaint of the chance to tie the game with five seconds remaining. “I probably should have penetrated and got to the rim. I scored about anytime I penetrated, so I probably should have done that.”

Toussaint led the Mountaineers’ scoring effort with his season-high 20 points. Teammate Tre Mitchell added 14 points and 15 rebounds. That’s the most boards by a WVU player, outside of Derek Culver and Oscar Tshiebwe, since 2016.

Those performances allowed West Virginia to stay close to Baylor, which started the season ranked No. 5 in the country, but it wasn’t quite enough to lift WVU to its first Big 12 win of the year.

“Our effort was definitely much better than past games; it still was not up to par, but it was definitely better than past games,” stated Toussaint.

“It’s the little things,” noted the junior guard who transferred from Iowa to West Virginia last summer. “We have to tighten up on those things. Once we do, I think we’ll be fine and will be right back in the win column.”