MORGANTOWN, W.V. – Colorado Buffaloes women’s basketball took on the No. 20 West Virginia Mountaineers in a competitive Big 12 rematch on Wednesday night and ultimately fell 73-46.
The Buffs entered the matchup with a record of 12-4 (3-2 Big 12), while the Mountaineers sat at 13-3 (3-2 Big 12). Colorado won the first meeting between these teams this year, with a fiery fourth-quarter performance propelling them to a 65-60 victory over the then No.14-ranked WVU. The Buffs made the trip to Morgantown to try to be the first to take down the Mountaineers at home this season.
Colorado started off hot as they have been known to do this season, outscoring their opponents by 61 in first quarters through 16 games. Jade Masogayo put in work in the paint early and forced the Mountaineers to bring in rebounding reinforcements from the bench.
Facing full-court pressure from the jump, the Buffs were then forced to rotate in new faces. WVU applied tough defense by extending the 3-point line, thereby making it more difficult for CU to use its size advantage down low. WVU also boasts the top two steal leaders in the Big 12 in Sydney Woodley and Kyah Watson, frequently jumping passing lanes and hitting the floor for loose balls.
"I think we really got sped up," Buffs head coach JR Payne mentioned. "When we get sped up and turned it over a couple of times [WVU] frenzied. A team that loves to press and turn people over will frenzy when you show that sort of vulnerability. I thought it just evolved in the wrong direction."
While CU turned the ball over multiple times under duress, the defense in turn stepped up and rotated well in coverage to come up with several blocks under the basket. Mountaineers head coach Mark Kellogg was visibly frustrated on the sideline when his defense gave the Buffs’ leading scorer Frida Formann a wide-open look from deep that she promptly cashed in on. This boost combined with a few uncharacteristic misses from the Mountaineers allowed CU to go on an eight-point run and finish the first period up 22-15.
Though the first quarter favored the visiting team, the second was a drastic flip-flop. Despite a four-minute scoring drought, the Mountaineers went on an astounding 16-2 run throughout the second quarter. Ranked top five in the nation for both steals and forced turnovers at 15 per game, Kellogg’s press proved difficult for the Buffs as the home team settled in. CU racked up 16 turnovers in the first half alone, and all the momentum shifted in favor of WVU.
Down seven at halftime, Payne’s message to her team was simple: “Take a deep breath.” She assured her team that limiting the frenzied play they had fallen victim to in the first half would allow their offense to flow once again.
Formann demonstrated this beautifully, hitting two back-to-back 3s amidst CU’s 8-0 run out of the locker room to regain the lead. Just as quickly, however, the Mountaineers responded with their own stifling 15-0 run, and soon enough found a double-digit lead.
Jojo Nworie was the only real spark for the Buffs in the latter half of the third quarter. Coming off of an ACL injury that has kept her sidelined for the last two years, Nworie has had extremely limited playing time this season. However, the forward made a positive impact off the bench with six points, a block, and a rebound in her nine minutes of action.
Although the Buffs were able to dig deep and pull out the win over WVU in their initial Big 12 matchup, that proved not to be the case on Wednesday, scoring just six points while committing seven turnovers in the final quarter. The Mountaineers jumped out to a 14-0 start in the fourth and capitalized on CU’s numerous mistakes. Finishing with 30 total turnovers, Payne’s squad was bested by a relentless defensive attack from the opposing team.
“With that many turnovers, there’s no way you can have offensive rhythm. Again, credit West Virginia. They’ve done this to many teams; we are just the latest victim,” Payne said.
The Mountaineers recorded 15 steals on the night and stretched their lead to 27 in the final minutes. While only Formann scored double-digits for CU (11), the home team had four players with at least ten points and shot 46% from the floor, converting 39 points off of turnovers.
The Buffs will travel to Cincinnati to take on the Bearcats (10-5, 2-3 Big 12) this Saturday before another Big 12 matchup versus the No. 11 Kansas State Wildcats (17-1, 5-0 Big 12) on Jan. 25 at the CU Events Center. Both contests can be watched on ESPN+.
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