WVU basketball: Women lose at home to Baylor

BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 27: A basketball goes through the hoop during the round 16 NBL match between the Brisbane Bullets and the Adelaide 36ers at Brisbane Convention
BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 27: A basketball goes through the hoop during the round 16 NBL match between the Brisbane Bullets and the Adelaide 36ers at Brisbane Convention /
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The WVU women’s basketball team lost a game to the best team in the Big 12 Conference. If the Mountaineers want to reach the next level, they need to win games like this.

The Bears came into the game ranked No. 3 in the country and they showed why they can be one of the most dominant women’s teams. The lone loss for Baylor this season came against UCLA in the second week of the season. UCLA was also ranked in the top 10.

The Mountaineers may fall out of the national rankings after this loss as they now sport a 17-5 record. Baylor’s 83-72 win against the WVU basketball team brought its record to 19-1.

West Virginia played a solid first half,a actually leading 23-16 after the first quarter. The Mountaineers had a six-point lead at halftime, but let the second half get away from them. West Virginia scored just eight points in the fourth quarter, allowing Baylor to secure the victory down the stretch.

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For the Mountaineers, Naomi Davenport continued her streak of double digit games with 27 points. Teana Muldrow and Chania Ray also reached double figures putting up 21 and 12 points, respectively.

For Baylor, four players reached double figures led by 25 from Kristy Wallace. The Bears dominated inside scoring 42 points in the paint compared to just 20 in that category for the WVU basketball team. Baylor had a 41-25 rebounding advantage.

The problem for the Mountaineers was their lack of depth. Even though head coach Mike Carey played eight players, only the five starters actually recorded points. Baylor shot 53 percent from the field making things hard on the West Virginia defense as its shots were falling constantly all game. The Bears had 16 second chance points and the WVU basketball team only had six.

Next: WVU women's basketball earns another win

West Virginia now has some extended time off as the next game isn’t until Saturday. Then, the WVU basketball team will hit the road to play Oklahoma. The Sooners are 12-11 on the year and this will be the first time they play the Mountaineers. But another match up between the two programs looms in a few weeks.