Villanova (6-2, 0-0) dominated WVU Women’s Basketball (6-2, 0-0) from the start of the match. The Mountaineers continued to fight, despite trailing by more than 20 points through the majority of the final quarter. The Wildcats forced WVU into uncomfortable possessions early, creating a tone that carried throughout the night. Read more: Turnovers and a cold start cost WVU in 59-81 loss to Villanova.
Villanova’s fast start
Villanova set the tone early. Brynn McCurry recorded the first points of the match with a layup. The Wildcats stretched the score to 10-4 and 15-6 in the opening minutes.
The Mountaineers were playing from behind against a great offensive team from the start. Riley Makalusky made a second-chance 3-point jumper to cut the score 24-13 in the first. Villanova led 28-17 at the end of the first frame. WVU’s energy stayed high, but Villanova’s execution continued to add to the score.
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WVU’s offensive successes
Mountaineers continued to play their game, despite the lopsided score. WVU found the most success at the rim, either on line drives from Gia Cooke and Jordan Harrison, or rebounds and put backs from Jordan Thomas, Kierra Wheeler, and Carter McCray.
In the second quarter, McCray and Sydney Shaw were responsible for trimming the deficit to single digits. Villanova was quick to respond, restoring their halftime lead to 48-35.
Harrison brought the game back to a single-digit deficit (51-40) in the third quarter, but Nova once again responded to push the Mountaineers away. The Wildcats responded nearly every time WVU attempted to punch back.
The successes were not enough to overcome WVU’s team problems, a point that Harrison touched on after the game.
“The game plan we had wasn’t working, but still defensively we didn’t have that grip that we usually do,” Harrison said. We rely on our defense a lot, so when we don’t have our defense, things don’t look too well.”
Fourth quarter
Villanova opened the final quarter with a 7-0 run. WVU trailed by 17 at the start of the final frame and fell behind by more than 22 points within three minutes.
West Virginia kept fighting and kept hustling despite the deficit.
Cooke continued attacking and was rewarded with two free throws, which she sank. These points briefly trimmed the score to 79-59. WVU struggled with turnovers throughout the match, and quarter four was no different. Villanova capitalized on nearly every live ball mistake and turned steals into points.
Final
The final minutes of the match slowed, with both teams missing layups and free throws. The final was in favor of Villanova, 59-81. The Mountaineers were coming off a riveting 83–81 battle with Ohio State and hoped to regain their rhythm in front of the home crowd. Villanova controlled the pace from the opening quarter and never looked back.
Postgame thoughts
Coach Kellogg was candid in the post-game press conference, expressing disappointment in the outcome. He noted that Villanova earned the win and that West Virginia struggled to execute at the level needed to keep pace.
“We’ll get back to the drawing board. We have to fix quite a few things, defensively obviously being one of those. We have not been very good on the defensive end of things the last three games, and that’s what we’ve typically prided ourselves on. We’re just not quite where we need to be.”
What’s next?
WVU returns home on Friday, Dec. 5, as the Mountaineers will play host to Mercyhurst inside Hope Coliseum. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. in Morgantown.
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