MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Another untimely injury and a woeful shooting performance brought West Virginia’s three-game win streak to a halt Saturday evening at the Coliseum. No. 8 Iowa State pulled away from the Mountaineers in the second half to sweep the regular season series, 74-57.
One of five seniors to be honored in a pregame ceremony, forward Kari Niblack suffered a lower right leg injury in the second quarter and did not return to the game.
“It is a shame. It is Senior Night and her family was here to watch her play. It is a shame. She tried to go in the second half but I saw her out in the hallway and there was no use. We talked to the trainer and it would have ballooned up more and she may not have been ready for Thursday. So we decided to hold her out,” said WVU head coach Mike Carey.
West Virginia led 14-10 after the first quarter but the Cyclones scored 24 points in the second stanza to take a 34-28 halftime lead. Iowa State (25-5, 14-4 Big 12) build a double-digit lead midway through the third quarter and the Mountaineers never crept within single digits the rest of the way.
The Mountaineers shot 24-for-74 (32.4%) from the floor.
“We struggled shooting again tonight. The effort was there. We had 20 offensive rebounds. We had good looks. They are sagging off but we have to be able to hit a wide open 15-footer, you would think. We weren’t even hitting those.”
Emily Ryan led the Cyclones with 29 points. She connected on 10 of 12 shots from the floor. Ashley Joens added 12 points for the visitors and Lexi Donarski chipped in with 11.
Carey was assessed two technical fouls with 14 seconds remaining and was ejected.
WVU (14-14, 7-11 Big 12) was led in scoring by Madisen Smith’s 11-point effort. Savannah Samuel added 10. Blessing Ejiofor narrowly missed out on a double-double. She scored eight points and pulled down ten rebounds in her final game at the Coliseum.
“She does a great job but more than that, she is a great person. I have enjoyed coaching her on and off the floor as much as any player I have had.”
West Virginia is the No. 7 seed for the Big 12 Tournament at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City. The Mountaineers will face No. 10 TCU Thursday at 9 p.m.
“For us, we would have to play four days in a row. So it is not only effort, it is going to be taking care of their bodies and getting fluids back in them and getting them ready to play everyday.”
Should WVU defeat the Horned Frogs, as they did twice during the regular season, Iowa State would be their opponent in Friday’s quarterfinals.
“Unfortunately, it looks like we have to play West Virginia again in the conference tournament. I told my staff, I said, ‘I am glad we won. But I don’t know if I am that excited playing these guys again. [WVU] is a team that could win the conference tournament’,” said Iowa State head coach Bill Fennelly.