Box Score STILLWATER, Okla. – The West Virginia University women's basketball team (14-8, 5-6 Big 12) fell to Oklahoma State, 76-65, inside Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater, Oklahoma, on Tuesday night.
Sophomore guard
JJ Quinerly once again led the Mountaineers with 18 points, her 18th double digit performance this season, as well as her 10th game as the squad's leading scorer. Fifth-year senior guard
Madisen Smith was just behind Quinerly with 16 points, while junior forward
Kylee Blacksten grabbed four boards to lead WVU's rebounding efforts.
As a team, WVU shot 43.5% (27-of-62) from the floor, including 29.2% (7-of-24) from 3-point range. The Cowgirls shot 29-of-58 (50%) from the floor and 5-of-15 (33.3%) from beyond the arc. In the final stats, OSU's bench outscored West Virginia, 27-13, while Oklahoma State also scored 46 in the paint, compared to 36 for the Mountaineers.
The Cowgirls sprung out to a quick, 7-0 lead, but a pair of 3's from Smith and a floater from Quinerly propelled the Mountaineers into the lead. However, OSU went on and scored another eight unanswered as it began to take control of the game. Oklahoma State outrebounded WVU, 13-6, in the first quarter and snagged six offensive boards to take a 23-15 lead into the second frame.
The second quarter saw back-and-forth baskets between the Mountaineers and Cowgirls. When WVU finally drew within four after a layup from Smith, OSU built its lead back up with five unanswered. With a little over a minute left in the half, fifth-year senior guard
Sarah Bates nailed a 3-pointer to bring West Virginia within a basket, but Oklahoma State scored once more to take a 39-34 lead into the locker room.
To open the second half, WVU started out 4-of-4 from the field to tie the game at 43-43. However, OSU didn't let the Mountaineers take the lead, going on an 8-1 run after West Virginia tied it up. A pair of jumpers from Quinerly and fifth-year senior guard
Danni Nichols helped WVU get back within a score, but the Cowgirls continued to attack and built their lead back to 61-54 by the end of the third.
West Virginia went scoreless for the first six minutes of the fourth quarter, allowing OSU to go up by 69-54 before the Mountaineers could find their first points of the frame, a layup from Nichols. From there, WVU continued to struggle to find its shot, ultimately suffering the 76-65 defeat.
With the loss, West Virginia moves to 14-11 all-time against Oklahoma State, including 5-7 in games played in Stillwater.
After two games on the road, West Virginia now returns to Morgantown to play host to No. 21 Iowa State on Saturday, Feb. 11. Tipoff inside the WVU Coliseum is set for 6 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. The contest also is the Mountaineers' annual Pink Game for breast cancer awareness.
