West Virginia upsets No. 10 Mississippi State, 71-65 on Sunday Afternoon

The West Virginia women’s basketball team came out on top in their biggest victory of the season so far after knocking off No. 10/8 Mississippi State, 71-65 on Sunday afternoon.

The victory marks the highest-ranked opponent that West Virginia has knocked off since a March 6, 2017 win over No. 2 ranked Baylor two years ago.

Four different Mountaineers scored in double digits on the day as freshman Kirsten Deans finished with a career-high 17 points which was followed by Kysre Gondrezick’s 16 points while Tynice Martin added 13 and Kari Niblack chipped into the effort with 12 points of her own.

The Mountaineers came out firing after taking a 6-2 advantage halfway into the opening quarter behind a layup and a two-point jumper off the fingers of Gondrezick. Jordan DanBerry then netted six points through the remainder of the quarter to bring the Bulldogs within a point by the end of the first.

The second quarter saw Mississippi State take back the lead with a Jessika Carter layup to go up 16-15 with eight minutes remaining before halftime.

Madisen Smith then gave West Virginia a one-point advantage with a layup to provide the 23-22 lead. Smith then added on a pair of free throws before the Mountaineers went into halftime with a 36-28 edge.

Mississippi State came out firing after halftime while going on a 12-3 run out of the locker room which was sparked by a Chloe Bibby three-pointer and a Jessika Carter layup which gave the Bulldogs a one-point advantage.

Myah Taylor gave the Bulldogs the lead with four minutes remaining in the quarter before Chloe Bibby sank a free throw and a three for the 55-49 lead heading into the final quarter.

It was a well deserved fourth quarter victory for the Mountaineers as West Virginia came out on a 6-0 run before Gondrezick nailed a three which brought the Mountaineers within a point of the Bulldogs.

Tynice Martin finally drained a two pointer to put her West Virginia squad ahead for good with three minutes left in regulation. West Virginia wouldn’t surrender their lead the rest of the day as Deans added seven points for the Mountaineers to finish the game on a 7-1 run for the 71-65 victory.

The Mountaineers will now travel to the Charleston Coliseum on December 15 to take on Norfolk State with the opening tip-off set for 4 p.m.