The No. 14 West Virginia women’s basketball team was just short of coming out on top against unranked Colorado in their first Big 12 game of the season. Their second road game ended with a score of 60-65.
A three-pointer by junior Sydney Shaw started the Mountaineers off strong. They led the first quarter with a score of 16-9, closing on a 9-0 run. West Virginia saw better stats overall in the first quarter, with 46% in field goals, eight rebounds, and four steals, compared to Colorado’s 36% in field goals, six rebounds, and just two steals.
Junior Jordan Harrison hit two threes to start the second quarter and finished with ten points, totaling 12 in the half. Although Colorado closed the gap, the Mountaineers stayed on top at the end of the half, finishing with a score of 28-25.
The Mountaineers began pulling away during the third quarter. They had a total of six rebounds and three steals with a total of 23 points. With about three minutes left in the third quarter, the Mountaineers went on a 15-2 run, finishing with a score of 51-40.
The Buffs’ energy turned around during the fourth quarter, closing the gap and moving ahead. The Mountaineers were unable to keep up.
“We just kind of fell apart, to be honest, and that momentum is a scary thing in our sport, and it got on their side, and we just couldn’t kill it, couldn’t get any bucks, couldn’t get any stops in the fourth quarter,” said head coach Mark Kellogg.
The Mountaineers were only able to get nine points on the board and faced four turnovers compared to the Buffs’ 25 and two turnovers. Harrison led the Mountaineers, totaling 18 points, with senior JJ Quinerly close behind at 15. Kellogg congratulated Colorado on their win and said the Mountaineers will regroup and improve from their first road loss.
West Virginia now has an overall record of 10-2 (0-1 in Big 12) and ranks ninth in the nation with a +9.73 turnover margin. They will start the new year back home against UCF on Jan. 1 at 2:00 p.m.
