Box Score WACO, Texas – The West Virginia University women's basketball team suffered a 75-57 loss to No. 10/11 Baylor on Saturday evening, at the Ferrell Center in Waco.
 
West Virginia's scoring efforts were led by senior guard Madisen Smith, who tied her season-high with 18 points. The Greenville, South Carolina, native also led the Mountaineers on the glass, with a career-high 12 rebounds, to tally her first career double-double. Smith also tied her season high, with eight assists.
 
Senior forward Kari Niblack got WVU on the board first. Despite surrendering one free throw, West Virginia held Baylor to 0-for-7 from the floor before the Bears tacked on a pair at the six-minute mark of the first. The Mountaineers found themselves trailing, 7-4, at the first media break, as Smith scored just before the timeout to cut into the deficit.
 
Baylor tacked on three more points after the break, but West Virginia countered with nine points of its own, including four from freshman guard JJ Quinerly and 3-pointer from Smith, to take the lead with 1:17 to go in the quarter. The Bears added four more tallies before the end of the first, as the Mountaineers trailed, 14-13, heading to the second period.
 
West Virginia opened the second quarter on a 7-0 run, which included two scores from fifth-year senior center Yemiyah Morris, to take a 20-14 lead over Baylor. After holding BU scoreless for nearly four minutes to open the frame, WVU yielded five points to the Bears before the media break, when it led by one.
 
The two teams commenced to jockey for the lead following the timeout. After sophomore guard Savannah Samuel gave WVU a 24-23 lead with 2:23 remaining in the half, a 4-0 run by Baylor gave it the advantage and forced the Mountaineers to call timeout. West Virginia trailed, 27-24, with 58 seconds to play in the quarter.
 
Both sides netted a score after the break, but a last-second bucket by fifth-year senior center Blessing Ejiofor cut the deficit to 29-28 at halftime
 
The first half was tightly contested throughout, as the lead changed nine times and neither team led by more than six points.
 
After Baylor hit a pair of free throws to extend its advantage, West Virginia countered with four points on its end of the court to take a 32-31 lead. BU's Jordan Lewis provided a quick response, as she netted two unanswered 3-pointers to get the lead back for the Bears. A Niblack free throw cut the deficit to 37-33 at the media timeout.
 
West Virginia found itself down by eight following the break, as Baylor jumped out to a 4-0 run. The Mountaineers countered with a 6-0 run of their own to cut BU's lead to 41-39 with 2:26 remaining in the quarter.
 
Baylor ended the quarter on a 5-0 run, as WVU trailed, 46-39, heading into the fourth quarter.
 
The two teams traded scores to begin the fourth, as the Bears continued to lead. Following a BU 3-pointer, Smith tacked on six points of her own to trim West Virginia's deficit to 53-49. On the other end, Baylor added four points to hold an eight-point advantage with just over seven minutes to play in the game.
 
The Mountaineers added another score following the media timeout, but the Bears added 11 of their own to stretch its lead to 15 points and forced a WVU timeout with 4:33 to play.
 
Despite WVU's efforts, Baylor continued to attack down the stretch and outscored West Virginia, 9-6, for the rest of the game to seal the win.
 
Next up, West Virginia continues its two-game, Big 12 Conference road trip on Tuesday, Feb. 15, when the Mountaineers matchup against Kanas at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. ET.