No. 14 West Virginia Upset in Boulder Following Brutal Fourth Quarter
Boulder, CO – No. 14 West Virginia took an 11-point lead into the fourth quarter but shot 2-12 from the field and committed four turnovers in the final 10 minutes as the Colorado Buffaloes (10-2) went 9-11 from the floor and stormed back from a 16-point second half deficit to upset the Mountaineers (10-2) Saturday night 65-60.
West Virginia junior guard Jordan Harrsion led the Mountaineers with 18 points and five assists, but Frida Formann put in a game-high 22 points and forwards Lior Garzon and Jade Masogayo led the second half comeback to combine for 22 second half points.
West Virginia junior guard Syndey Shaw started the night with a three and a pair of steals in the backcourt by Harrison that led to layups gave the Mountaineers an early 7-6 advantage.
Frida Formann was off to a hot start, hitting her first three field goal attempts for seven of the nine Colorado points, including a three to give Colorado a 9-7 lead at the 4:30 mark of the first quarter.
The Mountaineers finished the first quarter with a 9-0 run with freshman forward Jordan Thomas leading the way with four points and a 16-9 WVU lead heading into the second quarter.
Jordan Harrsion opened the second quarter with a three to extend the lead to 10, but West Virginia went 3-9 and committed five turnovers while Colorado was 7-15 from the field and cut the deficit to three, 28-25, at the break.
Frida Forman led all scorers at the break with 15 points as Harrison scored a Mountaineer-high 12 points with two assists.
Jade Masogayo cut the WVU lead to one with a lay-in, but West Virginia responded with a 19-4 run, led by guard Kyah Watson putting in five of her eight points on the night for a 47-31 lead with 3:05 left in the third quarter.
Colorado began to build momentum heading into the fourth quarter, despite West Virginia leading by 11.
The Mountaineers went cold in the fourth quarter while the Buffaloes got hot. West Virginia missed its first four shots from the field while Colorado dwindled the lead to five before Harrison got the contested layup and ended a five-minute scoring drought.
The Buffaloes continued their momentum, while West Virginia struggled from the field and extending their run to 22-4 behind nine points from Garzon to build a seven-point lead with 36 seconds remaining in the game and held on for the 65-60 victory.