Box Score NORMAN, Okla. –
The West Virginia University women's basketball team (14-7, 5-5 Big 12) fell to Oklahoma, 93-68, inside the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Oklahoma, on Saturday afternoon.
Sophomore guard
JJ Quinerly led the Mountaineers with 24 points, her fourth 20-point scoring effort this season. Fifth-year senior guard
Madisen Smith was just behind Quinerly with 19 points, while Quinerly and junior guard
Savannah Samuel led the team in rebounds, grabbing five boards apiece.
As a team, WVU shot 42.9% (24-of-56) from the floor, including 43.8% (7-of-16) from 3-point range. The Sooners shot 36-of-69 (52.2%) from the floor and 12-of-28 (42.9%) from beyond the arc. OU led West Virginia in points in the paint (46-28), points from turnovers (23-17) and second-chance points (22-8).
The Mountaineers got on the board first with a 3 ball from Smith, before senior guard
Jayla Hemingway added a bucket of her own to give WVU a 5-3 advantage. However, it became Oklahoma's show after that, as the Sooners went on a 9-2 run to take a 12-7 lead at the midway point of the quarter. West Virginia drew within a pair at the first-quarter media break, but the Mountaineer defense couldn't stop a strong OU attack that shot 70% from the field in the first. The Sooners took a 32-16 lead into the second frame.
In the second, it was all Oklahoma. The home squad scored 14 straight from the floor, interrupted only by a Quinerly free throw, before Smith finally ended the Mountaineer drought with a triple at the 5:32 mark. However, WVU managed to find its shot after that and outscored OU 15-9 in the final five minutes to close the gap, trailing 55-37 at the break.
The third quarter started similarly to the second, with Oklahoma going on a big, 16-point run that was eventually ended by a Smith trey with 5:57 remaining. Bates also connected on a 3-pointer before the media break to bring the score line to 71-43. Although the Mountaineers went on from there shooting 3-of-5 from 3-point range, they trailed 77-54 with one quarter to play.
The fourth quarter saw more of the same from the OU scoring attack, as WVU fell, 93-68.
With the loss, West Virginia drops to 10-16 all-time against Oklahoma, including 4-8 in games played in Norman.
WVU concludes its two-game road swing on Tuesday, Feb. 7, when it travels to Stillwater, Okla., to square off against Oklahoma State. Tipoff inside Gallagher-Iba Arena is tabbed for 7:30 p.m. ET, and the game will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and the Mountaineer Sports Network, including 100.9 WZST-FM.
