Shanna Rose | WV Sports Chat
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia’s upset bid came up short Wednesday night, as the Mountaineers fell 71-66 to No. 17 Texas Tech inside Hope Coliseum.
Senior guard Jordan Harrison led WVU with a season-high 22 points and five assists, while Carter McCray added 15 points and six rebounds. Kierra “MeMe” Wheeler finished with 11 points and nine rebounds, and Sydney Shaw scored 10 for the Mountaineers (13-3, 3-1 Big 12).
WVU erased a three-point halftime deficit with a 25-point third quarter and carried a 53-50 lead into the fourth, but struggled offensively down the stretch. The Mountaineers shot just 3-for-19 from the field and 6-for-12 at the free-throw line in the final period and were outscored 21-13 in the quarter.
“We took one bad shot that I didn’t like at all and had a bad turnover late, but we got 19 shots off in the fourth quarter and most were pretty good looks,” WVU head coach Mark Kellogg said. “We just didn’t convert. The defensive end concerns me as much as the offensive end. Giving up 40 points in the second half is way too many.”
The Red Raiders took the lead for good with 1:52 remaining when Bailey Maupin drained a three-pointer following an offensive rebound. Maupin finished with a game-high 27 points as Texas Tech improved to 17-0 overall and 4-0 in Big 12 play.
“We made a lot of mistakes. They sped us up a little bit, but the mistakes we made were on us,” Harrison said. “When we go back and watch the film, we’ll see there was an easier way to score — slow down and read the defense.”
The loss snapped the Mountaineers’ seven-game winning streak.
WVU returns to action Sunday at No. 11 Iowa State at 3 p.m. ET.
Photo Credit: WVU Athletics
