MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Third quarters have been troublesome for West Virginia in the early part of its Big 12 Conference schedule.
The Mountaineers picked a bad time for their worst one yet Wednesday.
After putting together an efficient offensive effort in the opening half against No. 14 Oklahoma, West Virginia fell flat on both ends of the court and was outscored 28-12 in the third quarter, allowing the Sooners to pull away for an 88-76 victory at the Coliseum.
KK Deans’ 3-pointer accounted for the first points of the third quarter to give the Mountaineers a five-point lead, but WVU then missed 10 consecutive triples over the remainder of the frame and all 15 of its attempts from beyond the arc over the final 18:54.
“Our players played extremely hard. We were right there with them,” WVU head coach Mike Carey said. “You can’t go 4 for 28 from three.”
West Virginia (8-7, 1-4) lost for the fourth time in five games and suffered its seventh setback in 11 contests since starting the season 4-0.
“We have to get on a run,” said WVU junior guard KK Deans, who scored 14 points, but struggled through a 3-of-15 shooting performance. “We can’t keep talking about it. We have to do it.”
The Sooners got to the free-throw line early and often after halftime, cashing in on 10-of-14 foul shots during a dominant third quarter that allowed them to overcome a 46-44 halftime deficit to lead by double digits.
A basket in the paint by Liz Scott with 6:54 left in the third quarter gave Oklahoma (16-2, 5-1) a 52-51 lead, and the Sooners were in front from that point forward.
“Our overall energy and the tempo of the game was huge in that third quarter,” first-year Sooners’ head coach Jennie Baranczyk said.
WVU’s deficit was only one at 58-57 when Esmery Martinez drained a jump shot at the 4:19 mark of the period, but OU closed the quarter on a 14-1 spurt to take its biggest lead to that point.
Madi Williams and Skylar Vann each scored inside to start the decisive spurt, before the Mountaineers got one free throw from JJ Quinerly to trail by four.
But Vann added another bucket from close range, Williams split two free throws and Nevaeh Tot’s two foul shots 1:22 before the start of the fourth left Oklahoma with a 67-58 advantage.
Kennady Tucker soon added two more free throws for the Sooners and Taylor Robertson closed the third-quarter scoring with one of her five 3s.
Robertson, who entered the Big 12’s all-time leader in 3s, became the 11th player in NCAA history with at least 400 in a career during the victory.
“She’s incredible,” Baranczyk said. “I can take zero credit for anything. She’s special. You talk about somebody you have to kick out of the gym. There’s a different level of gym rat with Taylor.”
The Mountaineers’ deficit was 13 at the midway point of the fourth quarter. They rattled off six straight points to trail 81-72 following a Martinez layup off a steal with 2:56 to play, but got no closer.
“We have to start winning,” Carey said. “My job is to win. I understand that.”
Oklahoma pushed the pace in the opening quarter, helping the Sooners build a 22-12 lead through 7 minutes and a 29-22 advantage ahead of the second period. Although WVU got nine first-quarter points from Martinez and shot 10 of 19 overall, the Sooners made 10-of-24 shots, including 4 of 10 from 3-point range. Oklahoma also made all five of its free throws and did not commit a turnover.
“We want to get uptempo,” Baranczyk said. “That’s a huge part of what we want to do.”
However, the Mountaineers offered a strong response, and after facing their second 10-point deficit of the second quarter, WVU scored seven unanswered points to trail 34-31.
OU still held a six-point advantage at 43-37 on a Tot triple, but Martinez responded with five straight points and Dean’s 3 allowed the Mountaineers to lead by two, which is what the margin was at halftime.
The Sooners had nine turnovers and 10 field-goal attempts in the second quarter.
“Our pressure is chaotic and creates havoc,” Deans said. “If we play like that, it’s hard for offenses. But we get tired and stop playing, and that’s when they start scoring and hitting threes.”
Williams’ 23 points and nine rebounds led the Sooners, while Robertson scored 22 and Vann added 15. Tot added nine points and eight assists.
Oklahoma overcame its 21 turnovers in large part by making 10-of-22 shots from deep, 22-of-31 free throws and holding a 36-16 advantage in fastbreak points.
“They’re like Golden State in the NBA,” Carey said. “They’re a tough matchup. The beginning of the first quarter, they fastbreaked the heck out of us. The second and fourth quarters, we did a good job getting back. It’s amazing when a post player sprints how many problems that causes for the defense. Hopefully we can get our posts to sprint a little bit.”
Martinez led the Mountaineers with a season-high 26 points and 10 rebounds. After missing the Big 12 opener at Iowa State due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols, she had scored only nine points over the last three games.
“Make no doubt about it, nobody’s felt worse about it than Esmery,” Carey said. “She’s been getting extra conditioning and she’s working extremely hard to get back. It’s good to see her hard work over the last week is paying off.”
In addition to Deans, Kari Niblack (13) and Madisen Smith (10) scored in double figures in the loss.
WVU has now been outscored in the third quarter in each of its five league games and by a total of 119-82.
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WVU has utilized an 11-player rotation for much of the season, but had only nine players dressed and eight see the court against the Sooners.
Center Yemiyah Morris was on the bench, but sidelined with a separated shoulder. Forward Ari Gray missed the game due to a death in her family. Carey confirmed guard Jasmine Carson is no longer on the team.
Carson, a Georgia Tech transfer, averaged 5.2 points in 12 games. She played an average of 12.7 minutes in those 12 games before entering the NCAA Transfer Portal.