INSTITUTE, W.Va. – The West Virginia State University women's basketball team dominated West Virginia Wesleyan, 79-53, on Thursday night at the Walker Convocation Center. The Yellow Jackets scored within four seconds of the opening tip and held onto the lead for the rest of the game.

West Virginia State improves to 9-14 overall, 7-10 in the Mountain East Conference (MEC) with the victory. Meanwhile, West Virginia Wesleyan falls to 3-20 on the season, 1-16 in the MEC with the defeat.

Sophomore guard Payton Shears led all players in scoring with 20 points. Teammate Destiny Fields was not far behind with 18 points. Fields also grabbed seven rebounds. Freshman guard Madison Riley had her best game of the season with 12 points and six steals.

West Virginia State quickly put to rest all questions of which team would be in charge of the game by rushing out to a 25-12 lead in the opening nine minutes. West Virginia Wesleyan made a layup and a three-pointer in the last minute of the first quarter to close the gap to eight points, 25-17.

The Yellow Jackets then outscored the Bobcats, 18-10, in the second quarter. Going into halftime, West Virginia State led by 16 points, 43-27.

The third quarter was more of the same as the Yellow Jackets outscored their opponents again, 14-8. West Virginia State subsequently took a 22-point advantage, 57-35, into the final period.

The Yellow Jackets outscored their opponents, 22-18, in the last ten minutes to complete the rout. The Bobcats were totally unable to cope with the pressure placed on them by West Virginia State.

The obvious reason why the Yellow Jackets were so dominant was the 39 turnovers that they forced and the 34 points off turnovers that they scored. In comparison, West Virginia Wesleyan forced nine turnovers and scored five points off turnovers.

West Virginia State will travel to Davis & Elkins (6-17, 5-12 MEC) for their next game on Saturday, Feb. 15. Tip is scheduled for 2 p.m.