MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (Interstat) — The West Virginia women’s basketball team used a decisive third-quarter surge to rout Georgia Tech 82-50 at WVU Coliseum on Thursday night. The Mountaineers, improving to 9-2, broke open a close game after halftime by outscoring the Yellow Jackets 30-22 in the third quarter. Georgia Tech fell to 4-7 after managing just six points in the opening period and nine in the fourth. Gia Cooke led all scorers with 23 points for West Virginia. Jordan Harrison added 16 points and six assists, while Kierra Wheeler also scored 16. Sydney Shaw contributed 18 points for the Mountaineers before an announced crowd of 2,935. West Virginia shot efficiently from the floor, while Georgia Tech struggled offensively throughout the contest. The Mountaineers next play at Texas A&M on Sunday.

STAR CITY, W.Va. (Interstat) — The West Virginia women’s basketball team turned a tight defensive struggle into a decisive blowout with a dominant second half, cruising to an 82-50 victory over Georgia Tech on Thursday night at WVU Coliseum. The Mountaineers, improving to 9-2, broke open a game that was separated by just four points at halftime with a suffocating third-quarter performance. Leading 27-19 at the break, West Virginia outscored the Yellow Jackets 30-22 in the third period and then sealed the win with a 25-9 fourth-quarter run, capitalizing on a staggering 27 Georgia Tech turnovers. The most important part of the game was West Virginia’s overwhelming defensive pressure, which completely unraveled Georgia Tech’s offense after halftime. The Mountaineers forced 16 of Georgia Tech’s 27 turnovers in the second half, converting those mistakes into easy transition opportunities. This defensive intensity fueled a game-breaking 19-2 run that spanned the end of the third quarter and the start of the fourth, transforming a 45-36 lead into a commanding 64-38 advantage from which the Yellow Jackets never recovered. Gia Cooke led all scorers with 23 points for West Virginia, including three 3-pointers. She was complemented by a balanced attack from Sydney Shaw, who added 18 points, and Jordan Harrison, who orchestrated the offense with 16 points and six assists. Kierra Wheeler also chipped in 16 points. Georgia Tech, which fell to 4-7, was led by D’Asia Thomas-Harris with 14 points and Savannah Samuel with 13. The Yellow Jackets struggled mightily from the field, shooting just 34 percent, and their offensive woes were compounded by the turnover issue. They managed only seven assists against the 27 giveaways. The first half was a grind defined by poor shooting and ball security issues from both sides. West Virginia led 13-6 after a first quarter where Georgia Tech committed nine turnovers. The Yellow Jackets showed brief life with a 7-0 run early in the second quarter to close the gap to 15-13, but the Mountaineers stabilized to take an eight-point lead into the locker room. Any hope for a Georgia Tech comeback was extinguished in the third quarter. With the score 36-30, West Virginia’s defense locked in. A steal by Harrison led to a Shaw 3-pointer. Another turnover led to a Cooke layup. By the time the quarter ended with back-to-back 3-pointers from Shaw and Harrison, the Mountaineers had built a 57-38 lead, and the outcome was no longer in doubt. West Virginia’s defense finished with 12 steals and seven blocks, while its offense found a rhythm to shoot 43.7 percent from the field. The Mountaineers also controlled the glass with 16 offensive rebounds leading to 19 second-chance points. Georgia Tech will look to regroup on the road at Wake Forest on Sunday. West Virginia, which has won eight of its last nine, travels to face Texas A&M, also on Sunday. The game was played before an announced crowd of 2,935.

STAR CITY, W.Va. (Interstat) — A surging West Virginia women’s basketball team looks to continue its dominant non-conference play when it hosts a struggling Georgia Tech squad on Thursday night at WVU Coliseum. The Mountaineers (8-2) have won six of their last seven, including a 109-40 rout of Texas Southern on Monday where they scored the second-most points in program history. West Virginia’s offense has been potent, averaging 86.4 points in its eight victories. Forward Kierra Wheeler has been a central figure, coming off a 23-point, 6-assist performance. Over her last five games, she is averaging 15.6 points and 7.6 rebounds. Georgia Tech (4-6) seeks consistency after alternating wins and losses over its past six games. The Yellow Jackets snapped a two-game skid with a 72-57 win over Norfolk State on Monday, led by 20 points each from Talayah Walker and Catherine Alben. Walker, the team’s engine, has scored in double figures in seven of the last eight contests, averaging 16.4 points during that stretch. The matchup pits West Virginia’s high-scoring attack against a Georgia Tech team that has allowed 70 or more points in five of its six losses. The Mountaineers’ two defeats came against ranked-caliber opponents Ohio State and Villanova, while the Yellow Jackets’ losses include setbacks to Georgia, Florida and Texas A&M. This is the final non-conference tune-up for West Virginia before a pivotal road test at Texas A&M on Sunday. Georgia Tech opens Atlantic Coast Conference play at Wake Forest on Sunday. West Virginia holds a 3-1 all-time series advantage, with the teams last meeting in 2013. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. EST. The game will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.