No. 17 West Virginia Struggles from the Field in the Second Half and Falls in Stillwater

Stillwater, OK – No. 17 West Virgnia led by as many as 10 but went cold from the field in the second half, shooting 21.2% from the field as the Oklahoma State Cowgirls (14-2, 4-1) knocked off the Mountaineers (13-3, 3-2) Saturday afternoon 64-57.

West Virginia senior forward Kylee Blacksten led the Mountaineers in scoring with 16 points while Oklahoma State sophomore guard Stailee Heard led all scorers with 18 points.

West Virginia trailed by two at the 6:50 mark of the first quarter following a three by Oklahoma State senior guard Anna Gret Asi but Blacksten responded with her first of three threes in the first quarter to ignite and cap off a 12-0 run to give the Mountaineers a 17-7 advantage with 3:24 remaining in the quarter.

Oklahoma State battled back with an 10-2 run to cut the WVU lead to one as the Mountaineers took a 24-23 lead into the second quarter.

The Mountaineers and the Cowgirls traded field goals in the first five minutes of the quarter, with WVU getting the edge with a three to hold a one-point lead before a three from junior guard Micah Grey hit a three to put Oklahoma State on top 28-27.

West Virginia regained the lead with a 11-0 run, and it was junior guard Jordan Harrison driving the lane for the bucket before consecutive tough takes to the basket by senior guard JJ Quinerly while Harrison and senior guard Sydney Woodley finished the output with trips to the foul line for a 38-28 lead with 56 seconds left to play in the half.

Oklahoma State pulled within five after Asi hit a shot from halfcourt as time expired and the Mountaineers held a 38-33 advantage going into the halftime.

West Virginia grew cold from the field in the second half, shooting just 2-15 from the floor while Oklahoma State was 7-10 with six different Cowgirls contributing to build a 50-45 lead through three quarters of play.

The Mountaineers started the fourth quarter shooting 1-4 from the field and Oklahoma State took advantage extended the lead to 11 with 6:59 left in the game.

West Virginia constructed an 8-0 run, highlighted by a three from senior guard Kyah Watson and finished off with a drive to the basketball to cut the deficit to three but Oklahoma State senior guard Aexia Smith answered with a jumper, and despite the continued pressure following a mid-range shot from Quinerly, Heard essentially put the final nail in coffin with an the offensive putback to push the lead back to five as the Cowgirls held on to win 64-57.