PROVO, Utah (AP) — Lauren Fields scored 22 points, Ja'Naiya Quinerly added 19 and No. 23 West Virginia defeated BYU 76-69 on Saturday.
The Mountaineers scored the first seven points of the game and never trailed but after pushing the lead to 41-23 with three minutes left in the first half the Cougars cut the deficit to single digits midway through the third quarter and kept it there until the final minute.
Jordan Harrison added 11 points for West Virginia (19-2, 8-2 Big 12 Conference), which has won six straight. Kyah Watson had 10 points, six rebounds and five assists. Quinerly had five steals, giving her 204 in her career.
Harrison's two free throws iced the game with 13 seconds to go. She had missed a pair seconds earlier, which helped the Cougars cut a 10-point deficit to 74-69 with 17 seconds to go.
Lauren Gustin had 16 points and 14 rebounds for the Cougars (12-11, 2-8). It was the 21st double-double of the season and 77th of her career for the nation's leading rebounder. Lauren Davenport (13) and Emma Calvert combined for 25 points off the bench and Kailey Woolston had 10.
After putting the Cougars in an early hole, the Mountaineers came up with clutch shots or easy baskets when BYU battled back. West Virginia shot 52% (29 of 56) with seven 3-pointers and scored 29 points off of turnovers. BYU was better from distance (11 of 22 3-pointers) and close range (13 of 32).
Texas Tech is at West Virginia on Tuesday. No. 13 Baylor is at BYU on Wednesday.
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