MORGANTOWN — The West Virginia women got another high-scoring performance from Taylor Palmer, but it didn’t ease the sting of another close loss in the Big 12.
Up by 13 early and leading six points in the final eight minutes, WVU couldn’t stave off Angel Goodrich and No. 21 Kansas, which rallied for a 60-59 win at the Coliseum.
Goodrich scored 16 points and found Carolyn Davis for a layup that snapped a 56-all tie. The Jayhawks (11-2, 2-0) extended the lead on Natalie Knight’s free throws before Palmer sank a 3-pointer with one second left to finish with 24 points.
Palmer had scored 30 in WVU’s last game, a 71-68 loss at No. 17 Oklahoma.
“We just didn’t execute down the stretch once again,” said Mountaineers coach Mike Carey. “We have to just turn this around and get better. This is two games now that I felt we just threw away. We have to quit doing that.”
WVU’s Averee Fields had 14 points and seven rebounds, while Christal Caldwell added 11 points.
The Mountaineers (8-5, 0-2) led 17-4 at the 12:58 mark in the first half, but Kansas pulled within 31-30, at halftime. The second half had three ties, with the Mountaineers pulling away for a six-point lead at the 7:22 mark, 48-42.
Kansas was 23-of-34 at the foul line compared to 10-of-14 for WVU. The Jayhawks also out-rebounded the Mountaineers 34-31.
West Virginia hosts the Texas Longhorns at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.