WVU Women’s Basketball Suffers First Loss Behind Turnover Flood

WVU Women’s Basketball lost their first game of the season on Wednesday, Nov. 26, falling 83-81 to the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Baha Mar Pink Flamingo Championship game in Nassau, The Bahamas.

The No. 21 Mountaineers (6-1) led 74-66 with 3:49 to play but surrendered the game-tying free throws to Buckeyes’ guard Kylee Kitts with 47 seconds left. West Virginia guard Gia Cooke, who led the field with 24 points, made one free throw of her own to put the Mountaineers back in front, but 6-foot-6 Ohio State center Elsa Lemmilä retook the lead with a mid-range jumper.

Jordan Harrison and Jordan Thomas, the latter of whom pulled down an offensive board, missed two shots at the basket in the waning seconds. The Mountaineers fouled to get the ball back trailing 83-80 and, although a Buckeyes foul gave Senior guard Sydney Shaw a chance to tie the game with three foul shots, she made just one of them.

West Virginia began the game on a 13-2 run, but the Buckeyes soon chipped into the lead as the Mountaineers committed 25 turnovers and made just four of 17 three-point attempts, all of their buckets coming from Shaw. Kierra Wheeler posted a double-double with 19 points and 14 rebounds, but also committed eight turnovers.

The Mountaineers made just one basket in the final five minutes of the first half, allowing Ohio State to take a 33-31 lead into the break. West Virginia pulled off another epic run late in the third, erasing a 55-47 deficit with a 14-2 stretch that took just 2:01, but six fourth quarter turnovers helped the Buckeyes pull ahead.

Up next, WVU Women’s Basketball will host Villanova at 7 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 1.

Find more coverage of the WVU women’s basketball program at WV Sports Now.