MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The Mountaineers rallied in the third quarter to take a three-point lead, but came up short in the fourth quarter. The Texas Tech Lady Raiders remain undefeated with a 71-66 victory over the Mountaineers. WVU falls to 3-1 in the Big 12, and 13-3 on the season. Read more: WVU suffers first Big 12 loss, falls 71-66 to Texas Tech.
Jordan Harrison scored 18 points in the second half, but it was not enough to beat the Lady Raiders. She finished with 22 points in the game, but Texas Tech rallied in the fourth quarter. WVU missed many easy opportunities in the fourth quarter, resulting in a 15.8% field goal percentage.
“I thought after the third going into the fourth, and even to start the fourth, I felt pretty good,” Coach Kellogg said. “I thought we were finding out rhythm. And then we didn’t play through the end.”
WVU had a six-point lead in the fourth quarter, but struggled down the stretch. It was a disappointing loss and a great chance to get a win at home against a quality team.
First quarter
Texas Tech won the opening tip, but immediately turned it over after stepping on the baseline. WVU’s Carter McCray scored the first points of the game for the Mountaineers with a cut on the baseline off an assist from Kierra Wheeler.
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Sydney Shaw brought the crowd to their feet with a three-pointer in transition following a missed three-pointer from Maupin. Sarengbe Sanogo rebounded two of her own misses and answered with a layup. Shaw made another jumper late in the shot clock to extend the WVU lead to four. Maupin answered with a three, which gave her nine points in the first quarter.
Snudda Collins scored on a jump shot with 28 seconds remaining to give the Lady Raiders a 17- 16 lead after the first quarter.
Second quarter
Texas Tech started the second quarter with a fast-break layup following a WVU turnover at half court. Sydney Woodley made a layup of her own to cut the lead to one. Sydney Shaw scored five straight points with a steal leading to a jumper and a three-pointer to give WVU a 23-21 lead.
WVU turned up the pressure in the second quarter, forcing five turnovers before an eight-to-nothing run for Texas Tech. Fritz and Collins buried back-to-back threes to give Texas Tech a 29-23 lead with just over one minute remaining in the half.
McCray got an offensive board with less than a minute remaining and put it back, but missed the and-one free throw. The Mountaineers forced another turnover, which led to a Harrison three-pointer to cut the lead to one with 29 seconds remaining.
At the break
The Mountaineers forced 12 turnovers in the first half, but only scored 13 points off of them. The Lady Raiders forced 10 turnovers, but finished with 15 points off turnovers in the first half. The Lady Raiders shot 42.9% from three-point range, while the Mountaineers made only 25%. Texas Tech shot 52% from the floor on 25 attempts, while WVU had five more attempts and finished at 36.7%.
Maupin paced the Lady Raiders with 11 points in the first half, shooting four of eight from the field and one of three from behind the arc. Shaw and McCray led the Mountaineers in scoring with seven points apiece. Shaw went one for five from three and three for 10 from the floor. McCray was three of five from the field and one of three from the free-throw line.
Third quarter
Harrison started the third quarter with a layup before a Fritz three for Texas Tech. Harrison assisted a Shaw three-pointer on the other end to answer the Lady Raiders. Harrison scored another layup off a Gia Cooke steal to give WVU a 34-33 lead. The lead did not last long as Collins made a contested jumper in the lane. Wheeler made a jumper on the other end as the teams traded leads.
The offensive action picked up in the third quarter, as the teams traded buckets on almost every possession. McCray scored three consecutive possessions and was fouled on a layup to tie the game at 43. She made the free throw to give WVU a one-point lead after the media timeout.
Texas Tech ended a 7-0 run with a Fritz three-pointer with just over two minutes remaining in the quarter. Harrison answered with a three-pointer of her own after an offensive rebound by McCray. WVU finished the third quarter with 25 points, holding Texas Tech to 19. The Mountaineers took a 53-50 lead into the fourth quarter.
Fourth quarter
McCray started the action in the fourth quarter by getting to the free-throw line after an offensive rebound. She made one of two, giving WVU a 54-50 lead with eight minutes remaining. Maupin put points on the board for Texas Tech with a three-pointer following an offensive rebound.
Jada Malone fouled out of the game for Texas Tech with five minutes to go, as McCray earned another trip to the line. She missed both, bringing WVU’s streak to four straight misses at the charity stripe. Maupin cut the WVU lead to one with an offensive rebound and put-back.
Wheeler made two free throws following a media timeout to give WVU a three-point lead with four minutes remaining. Texas Tech scored five quick points with just under two minutes remaining. Collins made a layup and was fouled. She missed the free throw, but the Lady Raiders got the rebound, which led to an open three for Maupin. It gave the Lady Raiders a 62-61 lead.
Maupin earned a trip to the free-throw line with 38.9 seconds remaining and made both to extend the lead to three. Harrison scored an easy layup following the WVU timeout to cut the lead to one with 25.9 seconds remaining in the game. WVU turned the ball over on two consecutive possessions and could not cut into the Texas Tech lead. A late three from Gia Cooke cut into the lead, but WVU lost 71-66.
Top performers
- J. Harrison (WVU): 22 points/5 rebounds/ 5 assists/ 1 steal
- C. McCray (WVU): 15 points/6 rebounds/1 assist/2 blocks
- B. Maupin (TTU): 27 points/4 rebounds/3 assists/1 steal
What’s next?
WVU returns to action on January 11 against eleventh-ranked Iowa State. They travel to Ames, Iowa, before returning home for another ranked matchup against the thirteenth-ranked TCU on January 14.
All Mountaineer basketball games are broadcast across the John Fredericks Media Network. The game will air on 100.9 FM The Torch and its nine affiliate stations.
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