WVU Women’s Basketball Grinds Past Arizona State With Late Run

WVU Women’s Basketball trailed Arizona State 37-29 with just over one minute to play in the third quarter of their matchup at the Hope Coliseum on Wednesday, Jan. 21.

From there, the No. 22 ranked Mountaineers (16-4, 6-2 Big 12) closed out the game on a 24-6 run, snapping out of their funk in time to salvage a win. A Gia Cooke and-one and a Kierra Wheeler (16 points) layup at the buzzer helped West Virginia close out the quarter with some positive momentum, sparking a game-tying 8-0 run.

Arizona State managed to come up with the tiebreaker on two separate occasions, but the Mountaineers answered back each time. A Sydney Shaw three-pointer put West Virginia ahead for good as they closed out the game on a 12-2 run, allowing just one basket in the final six minutes.

On the night, the Mountaineers held Arizona State to 20-of-55 (36 percent) shooting enforced 21 turnovers; West Virginia actually injured a worse shooting night, making 34 percent of their shots, but winning the turnover battle and making 22 free throws — the Sun Devils didn’t attempt a single one — proved the difference.

The Mountaineers led for most of the first half, taking a 23-13 lead on a Riley Makalusky three with six minutes to play in the second quarter, but made just three baskets over the next 19 minutes of clock time, allowing Arizona State to seize the lead with a 25-6 run.

Up next, WVU Women’s Basketball will travel to face BYU at 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 24.