WVU Women’s Basketball
WVU Women’s Basketball Survives Slugfest, Makes Big 12 Championship
WVU Women’s Basketball allowed a go-ahead three-point shot to Colorado’s Desiree Wooten with 68 seconds to play in the semifinal round of the Big 12 Tournament.
Trailing 45-43, Jordan Harrison’s attempt at a triple clanged away, but Gia Cooke brought down the offensive rebound. Kierra “Meme” Wheeler collapsed the Buffaloes’ defense, driving into the paint, then kicked a pass out to Cooke for a three that put the No. 15 Mountaineers (26-6) back in front. Clinging to a one-point lead, West Virginia’s defense — which allowed just 17 0f 47 shots to fall on the night — managed one more stop, Wheeler (12 points, ten rebounds) coming down with the ball.
Harrison sank both free throws as the Buffaloes fouled to regain possession, and, although Wooten managed to draw a foul on a three-point try, giving her a chance to tie the game at the charity stripe, she missed the first shot and the Mountaineers held on 48-47.
Defensive Slugfest
West Virginia allowed just one Colorado basket in the first 5:58 of play, taking a 13-12 lead into the second as the Buffaloes woke up late. From there, offense bogged down to an almost nonexistent pace, both teams combining to make just three of 25 shots on the way to a 17-17 halftime deadlock. They weren’t even turning the ball over — West Virginia committed one giveaway in the first half, Colorado six — they just couldn’t buy a basket.
The Mountaineers started the second half on a 7-1 run, pushing their lead into double digits in the third, but the Buffaloes scored eight unanswered points to end the frame, whittling West Virginia’s lead to 34-30 and setting up the last minute heroics.
WVU Women’s Basketball advances to the Big 12 Championship Game where No. 10 ranked TCU awaits at 5 p.m. on Sunday, March 8. The Mountaineers hold the No. 2 seed in the conference, while TCU won the regular season title and beat West Virginia in both games they played.
The West Virginia women have previously played in three Big 12 Championship Games – 2014, 2017 and 2021, winning in 2017.
