WVU Falters in Second Half at Kansas
January 24, 2015 02:01 PM | General
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
LAWRENCE, Kan. - West Virginia maintained a lead early in the contest, but Kansas’ hot second half shooting lifted the Jayhawks to a 65-59 win on Saturday afternoon inside Allen Fieldhouse.
WVU (12-7, 2-5 Big 12) led by as many as 10 points in the first half and held a 32-28 advantage at the midway point. However, KU came firing in the second half. The Jayhawks (11-9, 2-5 Big 12) used its size inside and shot 52.4 percent (11-of-21) in the final frame. The Mountaineers cut the game to five with less than five minutes remaining, but were unable to further break into the deficit.
“Give Kansas credit,” said coach Mike Carey. “They played harder and pounded the boards harder than we did. Some of our players weren’t focused. We should’ve had a bigger lead at halftime. In the second half, when they started making their run, we made a lot of mistakes defensively and offensively.”
Three Mountaineers reached double figures as Bria Holmes paced WVU with a team-high 16 points. Jessica Morton and Averee Fields each had 10 points. Fields narrowly missed a double-double with a team-high nine rebounds.
WVU made 2 out of their last 14 field goal attempts in the game, finishing with a 38.1 field goal percentage (24-of-63). Kansas completed the contest making 24-of-55 for 43.6 percent. KU dominated the boards, 44-37, with 20 of those rebounds coming from center Chelsea Gardner.
A jumper and triple from Bre McDonald and Holmes gave WVU a 5-0 start. But, Kansas used a strong run of their own, taking a 7-5 lead with 16:06 left in the opening frame. McDonald finished with nine points and six rebounds.
Off the heels of eight straight points, KU took an 11-10 lead. However, West Virginia responded with a 7-0 run to take a 17-11 edge under 12 minutes remaining.
The Mountaineers stretched their lead to nine with 4:46 remaining, thanks to five consecutive points from redshirt freshman Teana Muldrow. However, a 10-6 run by Kansas to close the half made it a 32-28 game.
In the first half, WVU shot 43.3 percent (13-of-30) as Kansas made 36.4 percent (12-of-33). Hot from the three-point line, WVU hit 4-of-6 in the first half. KU controlled the rebound column, 23-to-17, and scored second chance points 10-3. Gardner led all scorers with 10 points, while Holmes had nine for WVU.
West Virginia opened the second half to a 38-32 lead. However, a six-point run by Kansas helped the Jayhawks even things up.
Asia Boyd’s two consecutive baskets helped KU take a 46-44 edge with 10 minutes remaining. Lanay Montgomery was limited in playing time in the second half due to collecting four quick fouls. That departure helped Kansas work inside and outscored WVU in the paint 34-26 for the contest.
Another 11-6 run by the Jayhawks, coupled by two triples, helped Kansas take their largest lead in the contest with seven minutes remaining.
KU shot over 50 percent in the second half and capitalized on WVU’s 33.3 percent second half to pick up the win. Gardner finished with a game-high 20 points and 20 rebounds for the Jayhawks.
West Virginia continues its road swing with a visit to Texas Tech on Wednesday, Jan. 28. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. in Lubbock.
NOTES:
Linda Stepney made her 118th career start, which is seventh all-time at WVU … West Virginia is 11-1 when leading at the half … WVU is now 2-5 on the road … For the 22nd consecutive game, Bria Holmes reached double figures.
Gold-Blue Spring Festival Fan Recap
Sunday, April 19
John Neider | April 18
Saturday, April 18
Coach Zac Alley | April 18
Saturday, April 18
Coach Rich Rodriguez | April 18
Saturday, April 18
