Instant Recap: Oklahoma State Turns in Season-Lows All Around, Falls to West Virginia 54-37 on the Road

A pair of Top 25 teams with Big 12 aspirations squared off in Morgantown on Saturday. OSU came in third in the league in scoring, and WVU came in second in scoring defense. Something had to give. Unfortunately, it was the Cowgirls.

No. 23 Oklahoma State fell to No. 21 West Virginia 54-37 in an atypical outing for the Cowgirls all around.

The Mountaineers came in leading the Big 12 in steals, forced turnovers and turnover margin, and that skillset bothered the Cowgirls throughout the game.

It was an erratic first quarter for both teams that ended in a 10-6 West Virginia lead. The Cowgirls shot just 25% to the Mountaineers’ 30% in the first period, and each team had nine turnovers. The Cowgirls looked bothered by those giveaways and were rarely able to get into their offense. The Cowgirls went scoreless from midway through the first period to midway through the second. Only Alexia Smith, Stailee Heard and Jadyn Wooten scored before the break.

Although both teams struggled to shoot the ball early, the Mountaineers slowly pulled away until they took advantage of a lively crowd and momentum. A 6-0 West Virginia run late in the second quarter built a 23-12 lead. They led 23-14 at halftime. The Cowgirls stayed within striking distance for much of the first three quarters, but the Mountaineers had the momentum, the hotter hands and have a stingy, scrappy defense to boot.

With the Cowgirls in desperate need of a spark, Micah Gray looked ready to provide, scoring OSU’s first five points of the second half after going scoreless in the first. But she would finish with just seven. Heard knocked down a rare open 3-pointer with four minutes to go in the third to pull within eight, but WVU’s Jordan Harrison followed it up with a quick crowd-feeding layup the other way.

The Mountaineers built their largest lead at 43-31 early in the fourth quarter and extended it to as many as 15 before the Cowgirls showed a sign of life late.

Oklahoma State mustered a 6-0 run to pull within 46-37 but, in a microcosm of the game on the whole, WVU rattled off a pair of quick layups stitched together with a steal. That kicked off an 8-0 run to put the game away. OSU showed that little burst of fight late, but West Virginia moved to a perfect 12-0 at home.

West Virginia had just two double-digit scorers, but that was enough. Sydney Shaw led all scorers with 18, including three made 3s, and Ja’Naiya Quinerly added 15 and a career-high eight steals.

Smith was the only Cowgirl in double digits with 15, including going 9-for-9 from the free-throw line, but she picked up her fourth foul early in the fourth which limited her time in the final frame. Heard was held to just seven points on 3-of-9 shooting, her lowest since the seven she scored in OSU’s Big 12 opener versus Iowa State.

Oklahoma State, which came in averaging more than 80 points per game and shooting nearly 48% from the field, was held to a season-low 14 points in the first half, and to single digits in three separate quarters. The Cowgirls’  37 points scored and 21% shooting were both season lows. As was the Cowgirls’ 2-for-23 performance from behind the arc at 9%.

OSU came in averaging 14.7 turnovers a game but had 21 which led to 17 WVU points. The Mountaineers had 20 which led to 14 OSU points, but they had the better offense, the better shooting night (40% and 24% from 3), and the better defense. Add in the intrinsic momentum and crowd fuel of WVU Coliseum and it was too much for the Cowgirls.

With the loss, the Cowgirls fall to 18-4 and 8-3 in conference play. Next up, they’ll return home to try to bounce back against the Wildcats. Oklahoma State hosts No. 11 Kansas State 2 p.m. next Saturday at Gallagher-Iba Arena. The Wildcats are 8-1 in Big 12 play but will be the least rested of the two as they still have to face Kansas on the road Sunday and host TCU on Wednesday (which they’re currently tied atop the league standings with) before heading to Stillwater.