KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The West Virginia Mountaineers only hit three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter on Friday, but every single one was devastating to their opponents from Arizona State.
The first was scored by Sydney Shaw when the lead had been whittled down to two points. The second, from Gia Cooke, pushed the lead back to double digits. The third capped an 11-point run, which put the Sun Devils away for good. West Virginia won 67-54 to advance to Saturday’s Big 12 Tournament semifinals at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo.
“Before the game, we made an emphasis on just being ourselves and in those moments when we got close and we really needed shots, I think we just settled in and just played our game,” Sydney Shaw said.
West Virginia shot a blistering 57.7% in the first half of the game and 50% from beyond the arc. The Mountaineers were especially effective in transition, turning 14 Sun Devil turnovers into 24 points.
They carried a nine-point lead into the break, and had a 10-point lead at the end of three despite a back-and-forth third quarter that saw their lead drop just three points. Arizona State started the fourth on a tear, scoring eight straight, but that’s when Shaw and Cooke conspired to close it out.
“It starts with defense, our press controls everything for us,” Cooke said. “We’ve got a lot of quick guards. We’ve got a great paint presence. I think we have it from all positions, really.”
And that balance showed with three players finishing in double figures for the Mountaineers. Shaw led the group with 19. Cooke and Jordan Harrison added 16 and 10, respectively. All eight West Virginia players who played in the game scored.
Marley Washenitz led Arizona State with 14 points, going 4-for-8 from the field.
With the victory, West Virginia advances to the conference tournament semifinals to face Colorado.
Colorado 62, Baylor 53
Colorado showcased its depth with nearly half of its points coming off the bench in a 62-53 victory against second-seeded Baylor in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals.
Desiree Wooten, a redshirt junior who transferred in from North Texas, led the Buffaloes in scoring with 21 points. She was 8-for-16 from the field and pulled down four rebounds in 31 minutes off the bench. Logyn Greer was another important substitute, scoring nine points for the Buffaloes.
“We have a great starting lineup that provides stability, some offensive weapons, some defensive weapons, but absolutely no drop off from our bench,” Colorado coach JR Payne said.
Baylor struggled to find a rhythm offensively, shooting just 31% in the game and 15% beyond the arc. Taliah Scott led the Bears with 14 points, but shot just 5-of-21 in the game. Darianna Littlepage-Buggs contributed a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
“Going into the game, we knew we had to guard the 3-point line,” Payne said. “We believe in our ability to defend and I think that was a challenge they took personally.”
TCU 63, BYU 46
TCU jumped out to an early lead and never looked back, cruising to a 63-46 victory against BYU in their Big 12 Tournament opener. As the league’s top seed, TCU earned a double bye and automatically qualified for the quarterfinals.
By the end of the first quarter, the Horned Frogs held a 24-8 lead and were shooting a blistering 64.3% from the field. That included a 5-for-7 performance from beyond the arc. In turn, the nation’s top shooting percentage defense held the Cougars to just 17.6% in that frame and 27% for the game. TCU also recorded nine blocks in the game – four by each Clara Silva and Kennedy Basham.
“I thought we got off to a fantastic start the first quarter that just gave us the separation we needed,” coach Mark Campbell told reporters after the game.
Marta Suarez led TCU in scoring with 17 points. She also pulled down eight rebounds. Despite not scoring in the first half, Big 12 Player of the Year Olivia Miles added her ninth double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds. TCU will face Kansas State in the Big 12 semifinals on Saturday.
Delaney Gibb did her best to keep BYU in the game, leading the Cougars with 17 points and seven rebounds. She also had five assists.
Kansas State 74, Oklahoma State 73
The Kansas State run continues as the No. 12 seed advances to the semifinals of the Big 12 Tournament with a 74-73 victory against fourth-seeded Oklahoma State.
Oklahoma State led by as many as nine points in the second half, but Kansas State used timely threes to keep the score close. That included a nine-point run by freshman guard Jordan Speiser, who hit three of her five treys in the third quarter to help the Wildcats pull back within single digits.
Kansas State finally took the lead with 3:12 left in the game and built up a five-point lead before Oklahoma State made a final run to tie the score. Tess Heal drew a foul on the inbounds and sealed the win at the free-throw line.
“I think the belief in the huddle is better than it was,” coach Jeff Mittie said. “The ability to wipe away a bad stretch and start fresh coming out of the huddle is much better than it is.”
Kansas State, which does not have a single senior on the roster, is one of the youngest Power Five programs. However, they’ve strung together two consecutive upsets in the Big 12 Tournament, overcoming 14 and nine-point second-half deficits. The Wildcats entered this game 3-3 in games decided by one possession and 10-8 when the outcome was decided by single digits.
Speiser led all scorers with 21 points, shooting 8-for-13 in the game. She has 13 3-pointers through three games in the Big 12 Tournament and is shooting 52% beyond the arc.
