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.