WVU Women’s Basketball Falls Flat at Utah

WVU Women’s Basketball suffered a down night on the road against Utah, falling 71-64 on Tuesday, Jan. 27.

The No. 22 Mountaineers (17-5, 7-3 Big 12) managed to play their game to some extent, outscoring the Utes 44-30 in the paint and adding 23 points off 21 turnovers forced, but when Utah did manage to make it to the basket, they did so with great success, sinking 27 of 5o shots (10-of-18 from three) on the night. West Virginia, for their part, made just 26 of 61 shots, Kierra Wheeler (3-of-12) suffering an uncharacteristic slump.

The Mountaineers’ shooting struggles became apparent from the opening tip-off, with a Gia Cooke jumper at 5:59 serving as their first points scored. Their defense was up for the challenge early, keeping the Utes within four points for the duration of the first quarter, but Utah began to shoot threes in the second, burying six of eight and pushing their lead to double digits.

Trailing by as much as 18 points in the second half, West Virginia opened the fourth quarter with a 7-0 run that closed their deficit to 55-49. Utah responded with a pair of triples (and an eventual 9-0 run) that ate up more than three minutes and left the Mountaineers without much time to respond.

A turnover with 33 seconds left turned into a Jordan Harrison layup, once again cutting West Virginia within two possessions, but Utah made all four of their free throws to sink any chance of a comeback.

Up next, WVU Women’s Basketball will host No. 14 Baylor at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 1.