West Virginia loses in Big 12 Quarterfinals to Oklahoma State at the buzzer

West Virginia was in control of their Big 12 Tournament Quarterfinal matchup against Oklahoma State, holding an 11-point lead going into the fourth quarter. However, the Mountaineers would be out-scored 20-8 in the final quarter, with Oklahoma State going on a 15-3 run over the final 6:18 of the game and using Terryn Milton go-ahead layup with one second remaining to defeat WVU 62-61. 

The first quarter was a back and forth affair, with Madisen Smith and JJ Quinerly combining for 13 of West Virginia’s 17 points and giving the Mountaineers a 17-14 lead after a quarter. 

The second quarter was where WVU would start to create separation. West Virginia held the Cowgirls to just 10 points in the quarter, while Madisen Smith and Kylee Blackstein combined for 12 of WVU’s 17 points in the quarter. West Virginia would get their biggest lead of the game so far, 11,  on a Madisen Smith three pointer with 2:09 remaining in the half, but an OSU jumper by Terryn Milton would have the Mountaineers up 10 at the break. 

The Cowgirls got back in the game at the start of the third quarter, going on a 10-4 run over the first four minutes of the quarter to cut WVU’s lead to 38-35. The Mountaineers would respond with a 7-0 run over the next four minutes, to push their lead back to ten. Madisen Smith hit a three with 51 seconds remaining in the quarter to push the WVU lead back to 53-40, but once again OSU would score the final points of the quarter to cut the lead to 11. 

The fourth quarter was where it fell apart for the Mountaineers, scoring only eight total points, shooting 3-13 from the floor in the quarter. 

OSU cut the WVU lead to one with 3:13 remaining on a Lior Garzon three pointer, but Madisen Smith responded with a three of her own with 2:02 remaining to get their lead back to four. Lior Garzon hit another three pointer with 1:31 left to have the WVU back to one. A Kyah Watson missed jumper gave the Cowgirls the ball back with 16 seconds remaining and Terryn Milton hit a jumper in the paint to complete the comeback. 

West Virginia shot just 40% from the floor in the game, but shot 45% from three, while Oklahoma State shot 43% from the floor and 28% from three. West Virginia forced 20 turnovers, and scored 19 points off turnovers in the game. 

Madisen Smith led the Mountaineers in the game with 23 points on 8-14 shooting and 5-8 from three. JJ Quinerly was the only other Mountaineer to score in double-figures, adding 18 points on 7-13 shooting and 2-2 from three.

Photo by Aaron Parker