MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — For the second consecutive game, the WVU women’s basketball team saw a sizable lead disappear in the second half. This time, the Mountaineers found the needed counterpunch to collect a critical win for their NCAA Tournament hopes. West Virginia defeated Kansas State, 67-58 on Senior Night at the Coliseum.
On Wednesday, the Mountaineers saw a 17-point lead slip away in a double overtime loss at Texas Tech. Against the Wildcats, WVU built a 19-point second-quarter lead, only to see KSU even the score in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter.
“It is really challenging, the week they we have had with being on the road and three games in a week,” said WVU head coach Dawn Plitzuweit. “And then the long travel and getting back. To our young ladies’ credit, they found a way. There’s a lot of guts and toughness in doing that.”
“We’re trying to finish out the season as strong as we can. After dropping the last game, we just needed to keep our heads up and stay focused,” said WVU senior guard Jayla Hemingway.
The Mountaineers scored the final 13 points in the first quarter to take a 23-9 lead. K-State was only able to trim a single point off their deficit in the second stanza and the Mountaineers took a 38-25 lead into the locker room.
Fifth-year guard Madisen Smith scored the first five points in the third quarter to extend WVU’s cushion to 18 points. However, the Mountaineers went cold later in the quarter and the Wildcats took advantage. Kansas State went on a 15-0 run and they crept within five points [45-40] entering the final frame.
“Certainly a lot of credit to Kansas State during that quarter,” Plitzuweit said. “But also to our young ladies for continuing to battle and not give in.”
“We just needed to focus on controlling what we could control at that moment — getting stops and taking care of the ball on the offensive end,” Hemingway said.
Consecutive baskets for K-State evened the score at 45 just 32 seconds into the fourth quarter. In search of a momentum-changer, Hemingway connected on a three-pointer to put WVU back up 48-45.
“I just wanted to give us a little bit of wiggle room,” Hemingway said. “I was just trying to keep the energy up.”
“For her to get a really good look and to knock it in was really big for us,” Plitzuweit said.
WVU did not relinquish the lead. A 15-2 run quickly extended their lead to 13 points at 60-47. The Wildcats crept within nine points but couldn’t draw any closer.
Smith led the Mountaineers with 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the floor. She also pulled down six rebounds.
“In a game when we really needed to make things happen, she did,” Plitzuweit said. “There were stretches where it may not have been an easy shot, and she drilled some really big shots for us. Also, she’s a person who in timeouts is kind of urging and begging and is a leader in that regard.”
The Mountaineers have swept the season series with the Wildcats. In their first meeting in Manhattan, Gabby Gregory led K-State with 26 points. In the rematch, Gregory was held to ten points on 3-of-10 shooting from the floor.
“Tonight, we did a better job of trying to limit some opportunities and try to help a little bit quicker in some scenarios,” Plitzuweit said.
Hemingway was WVU’s second scorer in double digits. She scored 13 points.
Serena Sundell led the Wildcats (16-13, 5-11 Big 12) with 21 points. Jaelyn Glenn scored a dozen and Eliza Maupin added 11.
WVU’s trio of fifth-year players were honored on Senior Night. Graduate transfers Sarah Bates and Danni Nichols joined Smith in a pregame ceremony.
West Virginia (17-10, 8-8 Big 12) hosts their final home game Wednesday night against Oklahoma State before concluding the regular season next Saturday at Baylor.
(Dawn Plitzuweit postgame press conference)