Instant Recap: Oklahoma State Blown Out at West Virginia 72-40

BOXSCORE

The shorthanded Cowgirls walked into a buzzsaw in Morgantown.

Oklahoma State fell at No. 19 West Virginia 72-40, turning in a season-low in scoring and shooting against the Mountaineers’ vaunted defense.

OSU came in projected as an 8 seed. This was the Cowgirls’ last chance to add a Quad 1 win on the season. The Cowgirls are now 4-6 on the road on the season and have lost four of their last five Big 12 road games.

The Mountaineers hit the court running, trying to erase the taste of loss after falling to TCU on Sunday. They forced the Cowgirls into turnovers and bullied them in the paint.

Starting out down eight less than two minutes in is not ideal when facing a team like the Mountaineers on their home court. WVU took a quick 8-0 run, starting with an open 3 from Syndey Shaw on the opening possession and followed that by a steal-and-score and then another 3. That really set the tone the rest of the way out.

The Cowgirls got the business end of West Virginia’s patented full-court press, and it gave them fits. OSU had 16 turnovers that led to 17 WVU points, but most taxing is the way a press defense keeps you from getting into your offense. The Cowgirls had a hard enough time getting across midcourt.

OSU shot a season-low 24% (15-of-65) and just 19% from 3, barely avoiding another season low. They never led and never scored more than six consecutive points at any point in the game. Meanwhile, WVU shot 51% from the field and 40% from 3.

It certainly didn’t help that OSU was without one of its best ball handlers and their best playmaker Jadyn Wooten, who was listed as doubtful early Saturday and was unavailable by tipoff.

After getting beat down low early, Jacie Hoyt employed a zone late in the first to try to deny the Mountaineers in the paint, and it at least stopped the bleeding. It didn’t completely plug up the lane, but it allowed the Cowgirls to force some turnovers and get a few more offensive possessions on their own terms. But then the Mountaineers made them pay from deep.

After seemingly gaining some ground in the early part of the second, that zone got stretched thin as the Mountaineers continued draining 3-pointers. They went 6-of-8 from deep in the second. The Mountaineers finished the half on a 12-0 run as part of an 18-2 stretch to take a 49-23 lead into the break.

After the first two quarters felt like a track meet, the third was a slog, but that still didn’t make things any better for OSU.

Both teams came out of the locker room sluggish. The Mountaineers didn’t score their first basket until the 7:24 mark of the third quarter, but then they made three consecutive shots. Unfortunately, the Cowgirls didn’t make a bucket until 5:22 to go in the third. By that time, the lead had ballooned to 55-23.

After giving up 23 and 26 points in the first and second, OSU held WVU to just 11 in the third. Unfortunately, the Cowgirls were just 2-of-17 for five points. The Mountaineers scored the final seven points over the last four minutes of the third to extend their lead to 34 going into the fourth. The Cowgirls won the fourth 12-10, but when you’re down 34, the final 10 minutes is essentially garbage time.

Stailee Heard led the Cowgirls with 13 points on 4-of-14 shooting and was 2-for-7 from 3. Her second make from deep was the 272nd made 3-pointer on the year, setting a new program record. Unfortunately, it came in a blowout loss as OSU shot just 5-of-26 from beyond the arc. Heard and Amari Whiting shared the lead with eight boards each.

No other Cowgirl scored in double digits. To highlight just how badly things were going for the Cowgirls, leading scorer Micah Gray managed only 3 points on 1-of-14 shooting. She was 1-of-9 from 3. Haleigh Timmer had seven points, and Whiting and Achol Akot each pitched in six.

With their win, the Mountaineers clinched a Top 4 seed in the Big 12 Tournament. With their loss, the Cowgirls fall to 21-8 and 10-6 in the Big 12.

With just two games to go and still plenty to play for, you wonder if Hoyt just leaves the game film in the visitors’ locker room. The Cowgirls next head to Ames for their final road game of the season. They’ll face Iowa State at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday night inside Hilton Coliseum.