At halftime, West Virginia women’s basketball led No. 13 Oklahoma by four points. 10 minutes of game time later, it trailed by 14.
The Mountaineers’ consistent issues coming out of the halftime break resurfaced Wednesday as they fell to the Sooners for their second straight loss, 88-76.
WVU struggled to slow down the scoring trident of Madi Williams, Taylor Robertson and Skylar Vann, who combined for 60 points in the contest. The bulk of that came in the third quarter, as they each missed just one shot.
In that decisive third quarter, Oklahoma out-scored WVU 28-12, while the Mountaineers made less than a quarter of their field goal attempts.
That second half slide for WVU wiped away a strong first half performance, which was led by Esmery Martinez. The forward, who had struggled in the games prior to Wednesday, added 16 of her points in the first two quarters, including a pair of three-pointers.
She slowed down after halftime, but still finished with a double-double, logging 26 points and 10 rebounds.
Martinez’s work on the boards led the game, while the teams finished knotted up even on the glass at 41.
Williams finished as the star of the game, leading the Sooners with 23 points and nine rebounds. Robertson added 22 points and four boards, while Vann finished with 15 points.
Robertson hit a game-high five three-pointers as part of her scoring contribution. That gets her career total to 400 three-pointers as she adds to her Big 12-record tally.
WVU, conversely, had a difficult time from beyond the three-point arc. The Mountaineers made four of their 28 attempts, missing their last 15 attempts.
KK Deans, the team’s leading scorer, had an especially tough time, shooting 3-for-15 from the field. She finished with 14 points and three assists.
Four Mountaineers, including Deans and Martinez, scored in double figures on the night. Kari Niblack (13 points) and Madisen Smith (10) round out the quartet.
The Sooners boost their record to 16-2 on the season, and hold on to a share of first place with in the Big 12 with Iowa State at a 5-1 record. West Virginia slides to 8-7 overall and 1-4 in the conference.
The Mountaineers next face Oklahoma State on the road on Saturday at 2 p.m. ET.