West Virginia
No. 20 West Virginia cranks up defense, holds off CU Buffs
Fast break
Why the Buffs lost: West Virginia’s defense locked down the Buffs in the second half, holding them to 21 points and forcing 10 turnovers.
Three stars:
1. West Virginia’s Jordan Harrison: Scored a game-high 18 points and racked up six steals.
2. CU’s Jade Masogayo: Finished with a team-high 13 points while also pulling down five rebounds.
3. West Virginia’s Gia Cooke: Scored six of her 12 points in the fourth quarter and also finished with three rebounds.
Up next: The Buffs host No. 14 TCU on Sunday (1 p.m., ESPN+).
Opportunities to beat nationally ranked opponents don’t come around often.
The Colorado women’s basketball team had one of those opportunities on Wednesday and let it slip away.
No. 20 West Virginia cranked up its defense in the second half and held on for a 61-55 victory against the Buffaloes at the CU Events Center.
“I’m disappointed in that one,” CU head coach JR Payne said. “I thought we certainly had our opportunities. West Virginia’s a really good team. I mean, they’re No. 20 in the country for a reason, but I think when we turn on the film, we’re going to see that there was a lot of really missed opportunities that were us, whether that’s lack of execution or soft passes or not executing or whatever.
“Games like this are super frustrating because it’s such a cool opportunity to have a great team on your home floor as you’re climbing in the rankings in the conference and all of that. So I’m pretty bummed about the outcome, but certainly we played hard. We competed.”
CU never (15-8, 6-5 Big 12) never trailed by more than nine and even that deficit lasted just 14 seconds. The Buffs also never seized the lead in the second half, as they struggled offensively against one of the best defensive teams in the country.
The Buffs trailed 37-34 at the half and scored just 21 points after intermission, going 7-for-28 (25%) from the floor with 10 turnovers in the final two quarters.
“I don’t think they did anything really differently,” CU guard Zyanna Walker said. “I think it was just us, like, just self-inflicted wounds; just us being unorganized and just being lackadaisical with the ball and just not catching the ball where we want to catch it and getting the shots that we want to get.”
Still, the Buffs stayed in the game because their own defense was solid. West Virginia came out hot in the first quarter (8-for-15, 53.3%), but was just 16-for-43 (37.2%) the rest of the way.
Jordan Harrison led the Mountaineers with 18 points, including going 3-for-3 on 3-pointers in the first half. As a team, West Virginia was 7-for-11 beyond the arc in the first half, but 0-for-7 in the second.
“We came in at halftime and we’re like, ‘Yeah, we got to guard the three better,’” Walker said. “So we definitely made that an emphasis in the second half.”
Rebounding also kept the Buffs close. They had a 39-33 advantage, led by Tabitha Betson’s season-high 10, and limited West Virginia to six second-chance points.
“Yeah, it was definitely a huge part of the game,” Betson said. “A big part of how they play is rebounding, offensive rebounding in particular. Us limiting their second-chance opportunities definitely kept us in the game and kept it close.”
Offensively, Jade Masogayo led the Buffs with 13 points, Desiree Wooten had 12 and Logyn Greer 11. All three, and Betson, hit big shots to give the Buffs a chance down the stretch, despite their overall struggles.
Betson hit a layup with 4:51 to play cut the Mountaineers’ lead to 52-50, but CU was just 1-for-8 from the floor the rest of the way, outscored 9-5 down the stretch.
“There’s lots of good things that happened,” Payne sad. “It’s just that everybody is so good (in the Big 12). I always say, you don’t have to play perfect basketball; not by any stretch. But the things that we can control, we have to control. And I think there’s some areas that we didn’t do that and that’s I think what bit us in the butt in the end.”
Notable
CU had a three-game losing streak snapped and lost at home for just the second time this season. … Walker finished with eight points, eight rebounds and two steals. … The two teams combined for 43 points in the first quarter. … Harrison, who leads the Big 12 in steals per game, at 2.9, had six against the Buffs. She has 18 steals in her last three games. … This was CU’s eighth consecutive game decided by nine points or less.
No. 20 West Virginia 61, Colorado 55
WEST VIRGINIA (19-5, 9-3 Big 12)
McCray 2-6 0-1 4, Wheeler 3-9 1-2 7, Cooke 5-11 1-2 12, Shaw 5-13 0-0 11, Harrison 6-10 3-4 18, Woodley 0-1 0-0 0, Thomas 0-0 0-0 0, Makalusky 3-6 0-0 8, Riviere 0-2 1-2 1. Totals 24-58 6-11 61.
COLORADO (15-8, 6-5 Big 12)
Masogayo 2-7 9-9 13, Dutat 1-2 0-0 2, Walker 4-11 0-0 8, McErlane 0-0 0-0 0, Betson 3-9 1-2 7, Wooten 5-15 1-4 12, Greer 4-7 2-2 11, Gooden 0-2 2-2 2, Nworie 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-53 15-19 55.
West Virginia 24 13 10 14 – 61
Colorado 19 15 8 13 – 55
3-point goals – WVU 7-18 (Harrison 3-4, Makalusky 2-3, Shaw 1-6, Cooke 1-4, Woodley 0-1), Colorado 2-9 (Wooten 1-3, Greer 1-2, Betson 0-2, Gooden 0-2). Rebounds – WVU 33 (McCray 10), Colorado 39 (Betson 10). Assists – WVU 7 (Shaw, Harrison 2), Colorado 9 (Wooten 4). Steals – WVU 11 (Harrison 6), Colorado 8 (Wooten 3). Turnovers – WVU 15, Colorado 17. Total fouls – WVU 19, Colorado 14. Fouled out – None. Attendance – 2,097.
WHEELING, W.Va. — Wheeling is home to West Virginia’s first recovery program designed specifically for young adults, offering a new track aimed at people ages 18 to 24 who are working to overcome substance use disorders.
Youth Services System announced it will offer the recovery track at the McCrary Center in Wheeling for young adults dealing with opioid or stimulant use disorders. The program is designed to provide recovery-focused housing and support services, giving participants a safe, structured environment as they work toward long-term recovery and stability.
“Our transitional living program has been licensed by the Department of Human Services, as well as the Office of Health Facility Licensure. We also achieved the West Virginia Alliance of Recovery Residence certification so there will be a lot of oversight in this program. And we look forward to our continued work with them,” YSS CEO Jill Eddy said.
Youth Services System received a one-time grant through the West Virginia Bureau of Behavioral Health to help expand services and launch the new track in Wheeling.
“Research shows that the longer a person is provided a safe space while in recovery, the chances of their success in recovery and remaining sober is definitely increased,” Eddy said.
Services will include substance-free and MAT-friendly housing, peer recovery support, therapy, recovery planning, and overdose prevention education. The program also supports individuals with co-occurring mental health conditions and prioritizes high-risk and underserved populations.
More information about Youth Services System is available here.
BUCKHANNON, W.Va (WDTV) – WestCare West Virginia cut the ribbon for its Hope in the Mountains complex on 22 N. Locust Street. The new facility will treat men with substance abuse issues with the hopes of fighting the drug epidemic in West Virginia.
Each room in the complex includes 56 beds, a television set and clean bathroom. Stephen Wright spoke ahead of the ribbon cutting along with Buckhannon officials. He said this facility differs from others on how they approach treatment.
“We really focus on the individual and the individual needs and focus on their progress in the program versus a number of days that a person is in treatment. So it’s really individualized,” said Stephen Wright, chief operating officer of WestCare Appalachia. “So we still need aftercare, outpatient counseling, and those things. But this really gives an opportunity for an intervention to break that cycle for individuals struggling with addiction. Because lots of times they must be separated from the living circumstances that they’re in at that time.”
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A federal appeals court agreed to rehear West Virginia’s request to lift an injunction barring enforcement of state restrictions against drugmakers seeking to limit discounts to pharmacies under a federal program.
The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit granted Thursday West Virginia Attorney General John McCuskey’s request to rehear en banc arguments over a preliminary injunction. All active judges in the court will review the case after a three-judge panel in March ruled to keep the state’s SB 325 temporarily blocked while litigation plays out over the law.
The court said the case is scheduled for oral argument …
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