OVIEDO, Fla. (Interstat) — A dominant third-quarter surge propelled the West Virginia women’s basketball team to a 74-62 victory over UCF in a Big 12 Conference matchup Wednesday night at CFE Arena.

The Mountaineers, who improved to 23-6 overall and 12-4 in the conference, turned a narrow two-point halftime lead into a commanding 20-point advantage by outscoring the Knights 31-9 in the decisive third period. The Knights fell to 10-18 and 3-13.

The game’s complexion changed entirely after halftime. Leading just 25-27 at the break in a defensive struggle, West Virginia unleashed a 20-2 run over the first 6:22 of the third quarter. The Mountaineers’ relentless defensive pressure, which produced 12 steals for the game, fueled the outburst. UCF committed seven of its 19 turnovers in the quarter, leading directly to easy transition opportunities for West Virginia.

Guard Jordan Harrison, a 5-foot-6 sophomore from Oklahoma City, orchestrated the run and finished with a team-high 16 points and seven assists in 37 minutes. Forward Kierra Wheeler added 12 points, and guard Gia Cooke scored 19, with 11 coming during the pivotal third-quarter stretch. The Mountaineers shot 51.7% from the field for the game and connected on 7 of 15 from three-point range.

UCF, which shot a respectable 51% from the floor but failed to make a three-pointer on six attempts, was led by center Khyala Ngodu. The 6-foot-3 Fort Lauderdale native scored a game-high 21 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Guard Kristol Ayson contributed 12 points and four assists in a full 40 minutes, and forward Kayanna Cox came off the bench to score 11.

The Knights showed resilience in the fourth quarter, outscoring West Virginia 26-18 behind 12 points from Ngodu, but the deficit built in the third was too large to overcome. UCF’s offensive rating of 90.4 points per 100 possessions paled in comparison to West Virginia’s efficient 110.1 mark.

The most important sequence of the game occurred at the start of the second half. With the score tight, West Virginia’s defense locked down, forcing consecutive UCF turnovers. Harrison converted a driving layup, then found Carter McCray for another score. After a Ngodu basket for UCF briefly interrupted the run, the Mountaineers scored 16 unanswered points. The run featured a three-pointer from Sydney Shaw, a layup by Cooke off a Harrison steal, and capped by another Shaw three, forcing a UCF timeout with 3:39 left in the quarter and West Virginia ahead 48-31. The Knights never recovered from the blitz.

West Virginia, which entered as a 21.5-point favorite according to sportsbooks, saw the total score of 136 fall under the betting line of 129.5. The Mountaineers avenged a prior loss to Texas Christian from earlier in the month and continued their strong push toward the postseason. UCF, which lost to West Virginia by 50 points just two weeks prior, showed marked improvement but could not sustain a full 40-minute effort against one of the conference’s top defensive units.

The announced attendance was 1,789. West Virginia concludes its regular season at home against Cincinnati on Sunday. UCF travels to face Houston the same day.