Big 12 Tournament: 3 observations from WVU-OSU’s match-up

Oklahoma City, OK — The Oklahoma State Cowgirls had a slow start in Saturday ’s quarterfinal game of the Big 12 Conference Women’s Basketball Championship against No. 6 seed West Virginia, and they never caught up. West Virginia took home the win over Oklahoma State, 69-60.

Key observations from the game

1) West Virginia’s hot shooting

The Mountaineers shot nearly 64 percent from the field in the first quarter, compared to Oklahoma State’s 29.4 percent.

The Cowgirls’ Head Coach Jim Littell said they were playing catch-up all night.

“I felt it in the first quarter,” Littell said. “We were settling for jump shots and three-pointers instead of getting downhill and getting to the rim. We didn’t make ‘em guard us very well.”

2) Braxtin Miller left the game with a knee injury

With just under 9:00 minutes left in the second quarter, Oklahoma State’s starter Braxtin Miller, suffered a knee injury and was helped off the court. Miller returned to the game in the third frame, but was favoring her injured knee.

“When she left the game, we had to go to zone,” Littell said on Miller’s absence. “We haven’t played a lot of zone this year, so it changed the dynamics of the game.”

3) West Virginia in the same scenario as 2017

The Mountaineers entered the tournament as the No. 6 seed for the second consecutive year. Last season, West Virginia defeated Oklahoma, Texas, and Baylor to claim the Big 12 tournament Championship.

Yet, despite the similar circumstances, Head coach Mike Carey said this team doesn’t have the depth last year’s squad possessed.

“I just don’t think we’re as deep, you know what I mean, this year, plus Chania Ray has an injured knee, to play back-to-back is tough,” Carey said. “But like our players said, we’ll be ready and we will play as hard as we can.”