Shanna Rose | WV Sports Chat
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Kierra “MeMe” Wheeler recorded a double-double with 18 points and 15 rebounds, Jordan Harrison also scored 18 points, and No. 22 West Virginia knocked off No. 14 Baylor 70-60 on Sunday afternoon at Hope Coliseum.
Gia Cooke added 14 points and Sydney Shaw chipped in 10 for the Mountaineers (18-5, 8-3 Big 12), who used their physicality and defensive pressure to control the game.
WVU outrebounded the Bears 45-32 and outscored Baylor 36-8 in the paint. The Mountaineers forced 30 turnovers, finishing with 13 steals, and converted early miscues into offense — 15 of WVU’s first 23 points came off the Bears’ turnovers.
The Mountaineers carried a 31-25 lead into halftime and pushed the advantage to 14 points late in the third quarter after Shaw knocked down a 3-pointer. Baylor managed just three field goals in the period, one of them a buzzer-beating layup by Darianna Littlepage-Buggs that made it 47-37 heading into the fourth.
Wheeler’s jumper with 7:35 minutes remaining gave WVU a 53-39 cushion, but the Bears briefly pulled within five following a Littlepage-Buggs 3-pointer and a series of free throws by Taliah Scott and Bella Fontleroy. Shaw answered near the four-minute mark with her second 3 of the quarter, Cooke followed with a layup, and the Mountaineers led by double digits the rest of the way.
At one point late in the fourth quarter, Baylor went 1-for-11 from the field but stayed within striking distance at the free-throw line. For the game, the Bears shot 30 percent from the floor but made 27 of 32 free throws.
Scott led Baylor (19-4, 8-2 Big 12) with 18 points. Fontleroy finished with 14, and Littlepage-Buggs added 12.
WVU shot 34 percent from the floor and 28 percent from beyond the arc while making 17-of-20 from the charity stripe.
The loss potentially knocked the Bears out of first place in the Big 12, though Baylor remains tied atop the conference after No. 21 Texas Tech defeated No. 12 TCU later Sunday.
The Mountaineers travel to Colorado on Wednesday.
Photo Credit: Shanna Rose
