FORT WORTH, Texas — Taylor Palmer sank three 3-pointers to fuel a second-half comeback and No. 20 West Virginia survived a 29-point game from Zahna Medley to escape TCU 66-62 in women’s basketball action Saturday.
Asya Bussie finished with 19 points and 15 rebounds for West Virginia (19-3, 8-2 Big 12), but it was Palmer’s 11 points during a 16-2 run that rallied WVU from a 62-56 deficit.
“Give (TCU) a lot of credit and give my girls credit for coming back,” said WVU coach Mike Carey. “They went up that one time in the second half and had the crowd involved, but we were able to cut into it.
Natalie Ventress added 15 points for the Horned Frogs (12-9, 3-6), while Latricia Lovings recorded seven blocks but was limited to 20 minutes by foul trouble.
Medley’s layup made it a one-point game with 37 seconds remaining, but Palmer—who scored all 14 of her points in the final 6:35—converted 3-of-4 free throws attempts. Jess Harlee blocked Medley’s 3-point attempt with 13 seconds left to seal the win.
“Well, it’s another Big 12 battle that just is going to come down to a possession or two and that’s what happened tonight,” said TCU coach Jeff Mittie.
The Mountaineers outboarded the Horned Frogs 52-26 with the help of Bussie’s career-best rebounding night, which included six on the offensive glass. Averee Fields added nine rebounds to go with 11 points.
“Obviously, the story is rebounding and we just couldn’t rebound the basketball,” said Mittie. “They got a lot of extra chances and when they get that many chances, bad stuff is going to happen.”
WVU’s 35-percent shooting was its worst since Jan. 12, while TCU shot 36.8 percent.
The Mountaineers return to the court on Saturday, Feb. 8 at 2 p.m. as they take on Kansas State at the WVU Coliseum.