Quinerly, No. 12 West Virginia dispatch High Point 89-54 in Gulf Coast Showcase

ESTERO, Fla. (AP) — JJ Quinerly scored 18 of her 22 points in the first half and West Virginia made easy work of High Point, beating the Panthers 89-54 on Friday in an opening-round game of the eight-team Gulf Coast Showcase.

Reserve Jordan Thomas scored 18 points and Jordan Harrison had 13 for West Virginia.

Aaliyah Collins scored 11 points for High Point.

The 12th-ranked Mountaineers (7-0) advance to face Boise State (7-0) on Saturday. The Broncos beat Illinois State 79-76 on Friday.

Quinerly started the game with three layups and a pair of free throws in a little more than three-and-a-half minutes to help West Virginia to a 9-0 lead. Her point total in that stretch topped High Point’s overall point total for the quarter as West Virginia led 22-7 after the first.

West Virginia used an 8-2 run to start the second quarter to get its first 20-plus point lead of the game with another Quinerly layup and two free throws, a Jordan Thomas layup and a Celia Riviere jumper for a 30-9 lead.

The Mountaineers moved their record to 3-0 against the Panthers.

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