LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas women’s basketball outscored West Virginia by five points in the fourth quarter, but could not mount a comeback, falling to the Mountaineers, 65-45, Sunday evening inside Allen Fieldhouse.
The offensive production came too late for Kansas (5-8, 0-2 Big 12) against the Mountaineers. Through three quarters of action, only four Jayhawks were in the scoring column and Kansas faced a 25-point deficit. Four more Jayhawks found the bottom of the net in the final period, but the West Virginia was able to sustain its lead for its first conference victory of the season.
West Virginia (12-3, 1-1 Big 12) saw senior guard Jessica Morton come off the bench to score a game-high 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including a perfect 3-of-3 from distance. Senior guard Bria Holmes, the Mountaineers’ leading scorer in 2015-16, was held to only 13 points after entering the contest averaging 17.4 points per game. Junior center Lanay Montgomery, the conference’s leading blocker, recorded four of the visitors’ eight blocks.
The Jayhawks were led by sophomore guard Lauren Aldridge, who logged 16 points on 50 percent shooting from the field, including all three of the team’s long-range baskets. Sophomore guard Chayla Cheadle led Kansas in rebounds with seven boards after earning her fifth start of the season. Junior forward Caelynn Manning-Allen and freshman guard Kylee Kopatich each tallied seven points.
27170
Junior forward Caelynn Manning-Allen drives to the basket
The Mountaineers opened the game on a 9-2 run, sinking four-consecutive field goals. Each team could only connect on two of its next eight attempts, with West Virginia carrying a 14-7 lead into the final minute of the first quarter. Aldridge hit Kansas’ first three-pointer of the contest just before the end of the shot clock to cut the deficit to four, and then held the Mountaineers scoreless on their final possession of the quarter to bring the score to 14-10 after ten minutes of action.
Over the first five minutes of the second period, West Virginia tried to extend its lead with long-range baskets, shooting 3-of-5 from beyond the arc. Aldridge put in her second triple and Manning-Allen matched the effort with her second layup of the day, keeping the Jayhawks within six points of WVU with five minutes left in the half.
The Jayhawks concluded the half on the receiving end of a 13-0 run, shooting 0-of-7 from the field and committing seven turnovers. The Mountaineers collected 16 points off of Kansas’ 15 turnovers in the first half, pushing their lead to 36-17 with two quarters left to play.
Kansas faced its largest halftime deficit of the season to begin the third quarter, and continued to struggle with turnovers. Three giveaways in the first five minutes of the period helped West Virginia put together a 8-0 scoring streak, as the lead reached 25 points at the 5:07 mark. Five-consecutive points from Aldridge quickly brought the score back to 46-26 with four minutes left in the quarter. A made free throw from freshman guard Aisia Robertson broke a 6-0 run from West Virginia to end the period.
After being held scoreless over the first 30 minutes of action, Kopatich found a rhythm in the fourth quarter and tallied seven points in just over five minutes. Freshman guards Jayde Christopher and Robertson, as well as junior forward Jada Brown, also recorded their first made field goals of the game in the fourth period, each with a layup.
Kansas shot a perfect 6-of-6, while holding the Mountaineers to just two points, over the last 3:24 of the game. The late offensive surge brought the score to 65-45 at the final buzzer in favor of West Virginia.
— KU Athletics —