MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The third quarter of Wednesday’s contest against 17th-ranked Texas Tech was among West Virginia’s best this season from an offensive standpoint.
What followed in the fourth, however, was perhaps the worst 10-minute stretch on that end through 16 contests. The Mountaineers missed numerous decent looks and shot 3 for 19 from the field and 6 for 12 on free throws in the final frame, while squandering a six-point advantage with inside 8 minutes remaining and falling to the unbeaten Red Raiders, 71-66.
“We took one bad shot that I didn’t like at all and had a bad turnover late, but we got 19 shots off in the fourth quarter and most were pretty good looks,” WVU head coach Mark Kellogg said. “We just didn’t convert. The defensive end concerns me as much as the offensive end. Giving up 40 points in the second half is way too many.”
Of WVU’s three fourth-quarter buckets, only one within the first 9:34 — a layup from Kierra ‘MeMe’ Wheeler with 7:10 remaining that left the home team with a 58-53 lead and came directly after Texas Tech’s Bailey Maupin had made a three-pointer.
Despite the offensive struggles, WVU dug in enough defensively to maintain a 61-57 advantage with inside 2 minutes remaining before the game turned in the visitors’ favor over a 7-second stretch.
Snudda Collins scored on a drive to the basket, while being fouled by Carter McCray in the process. With 1:59 left, Collins stepped to the free-throw line but was unable to convert the three-point play. Tech’s Jalynn Bristow came up with a pivotal offensive rebound, and found Maupin on the perimeter, who drained her fourth and final triple to give the Red Raiders (17-0, 4-0) a 62-61 lead at the 1:52 mark.
“They’re really good in the third quarter and I would venture to say we’re really good in the fourth quarter from previous games,” Red Raiders’ head coach Krista Gerlich said. “I’m not real sure fatigue played a factor in it as much as our kids just kind of locked down, really tried to defend and we got better on the glass. They missed a lot of easy shots early in the fourth quarter and that maybe played toward fatigue, but our kids did a good job on the glass and limiting second-chance opportunities, and we quit fouling a bit.”
Jordan Harrison missed a pair of threes on WVU’s ensuing trip, before Maupin made two free throws for a three-point advantage with 38 seconds left.
“What a basketball game. We knew coming in this was going to be a huge challenge and I’m super proud of our kids for being resilient for four quarters,” Gerlich said.
Harrison scored from close range 13 seconds later, but the Red Raiders continued to excel from the free-throw line and Collins made a pair for a 66-63 lead with 20 seconds to play.
Maupin then stole a Gia Cooke pass and made 1-of-2 free throws to make it a two-possession game, before another Mountaineer turnover all but ended any hope of late heroics for the home team.
“We made a lot of mistakes. They sped us up a little bit, but the mistakes we made were on us,” Harrison said. “When we go back and watch the film, we’ll see there was an easier way to score — slow down and read the defense.”
The third period was a far different story as WVU (13-3, 3-1) overcame a 31-28 halftime deficit by making 10-of-13 shots in what amounted to a 25-point frame. Harrison was the catalyst for the success, scoring 11 points on 4-for-4 shooting and dishing out three assists, while McCray continued to be a presence inside and scored seven points on 3-for-3 shooting.
But Texas Tech managed 19 points in the third to stay well within striking distance, with the Red Raiders making half of their six three-point attempts in that quarter, including both from Denae Fritz.
“You’re up six in the fourth, you’re supposed to find a way to win that game,” Kellogg said.
The entirety of the game was played within six points, with Tech’s largest lead coming at 29-23 after a Collins triple.
McCray and Harrison combined for the next five points, before Maupin capped the first-half scoring with a pair of free throws. She scored 11 of her game-high 27 points through two quarters and 13 more in the fourth.
“No basketball game is all ups and no basketball game is all downs,” Maupin said. “It’s finding a balance between your highs and lows and managing that to be able to come out with a win.”
Collins scored 19 points to help her team finish with a 25-2 advantage in bench points.
Tech finished with a 37-33 rebounding edge, and despite having 16 offensive boards to WVU’s 18, the Red Raiders accounted for 20 of the game’s 28 second-chance points.
“We got a lot of offensive rebounds and didn’t convert very many of them,” Kellogg said.
Harrison led four WVU double-figure scorers with 22 points and added five rebounds and five assists.
McCray added 15 points and Wheeler scored 11 to go with a team-best nine boards. Sydney Shaw scored 10 but shot 4 for 14, while Cooke was held to six points on 2-for-9 shooting.
The Mountaineers forced 20 turnovers, but managed only four steals.
“We had too many things go wrong that we had control of,” McCray said, “and that led to our detriment in the end.”
