WVU Women’s Basketball Falls Short Against No. 5 Texas, 78-73

In easily the biggest news to affect WVU athletics this weekend, WVU Women’s Basketball suffered their first loss of the season on Sunday night, falling 78-73 to the No. 5 Texas Longhorns in the Gulf Coast Showcase Championship Game despite a heroic last minute surge.

The No. 12 Mountaineers gave Texas a run for their money, trimming the deficit to a single point off a Sydney Shaw corner three with 43 seconds to play, but they never managed to tie it, much less take the lead.

Although the Mountaineers outshot the Longhorns 54.2 percent to 43.1, they were outrebounded 37-23—much of that because of 18 offensive boards for Texas—and lost the turnover battle 20-15, ultimately taking 10 less shots than Texas did… although West Virginia actually made more baskets, 26 to 25. Fouls also plagued West Virginia. The Longhorns’ 26 0f 33 clip on free throws—versus 18 of 23 for West Virginia—combined to give the Longhorns more than enough of an edge.

No Quit in These Mountaineers

JJ Quinerly had her best game of the season, leading the field with 29 points: among her highlights were a three-pointer at the tail end of the second quarter to send West Virginia to the break on a high note, and a third quarter buzzer beater that made it 52-48. Jordan Harrison put up 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting, while Sydney Shaw made a pair of late three-pointers to keep the Mountaineers alive.

Texas led by as much as 14 points midway through the second period, but the Mountaineers managed to keep them within arm’s reach, getting back in the game with a quick 6-0 run. West Virginia finally found a scoring rhythm late in the third, capping a 10-1 run with a Kyah Watson layup that made it 48-46.

A free throw gave the Longhorns a commanding 72-62 lead with 96 seconds to go, but the Mountaineers weren’t anywhere near finished yet. Four Texas fouls in the next 18 seconds turned into six points for the Mountaineers, then Shaw’s three-ball made it a one point game.

https://t.co/i6faJWZX9V pic.twitter.com/BcxuRamUXk

— WVU Women's Basketball (@WVUWBB) December 2, 2024

Longhorns’ forward Madison Booker responded with a jumper that gave Texas some breathing room, and the Mountaineers never managed to get another shot off.

WVU Women’s Basketball falls to 8-1 on the season. Up next, they’ll host Eastern Tennessee State at 10:30am on Friday, December 6.