The Texas Tech women’s basketball team lost its second consecutive game with an 82-59 result Tuesday at West Virginia. The Lady Raiders trailed by as many as 35 points as they dropped to 1-5 on the road.
After leading by 12 at halftime, the No. 22 Mountaineers broke open the game with a 30-10 third quarter. Tech shot 5 of 15 and committed eight turnovers in the frame. WVU connected on 68.8% of its shots, led by Ja’Naiya Quinerly’s 4 of 4 quarter. She scored 11 of her game-high 21 points in the period.
WEST TEXAS CONNECTION: West Virginia coach Mark Kellogg has ties to West Texas, Texas Tech’s Krista Gerlich
Kyah Watson added 19, Lauren Fields 11 and Kylee Blacksten 10 for the Mountaineers, who shot 56.1% for the game, including 7 of 18 (38.9%) from 3-point range. It was WVU’s seventh consecutive win.
Tech guard Jasmine Shavers scored 10 of her team-high 16 points in the fourth quarter. She shot 5 of 16 for the game. Jordyn Merritt followed with 13 points on 5-of-12 shooting. Overall the Lady Raiders shot 37.5% and committed 24 turnovers, which WVU converted into 30 points.
Tech (16-8, 5-6 conference) dropped into a tie for seventh in the Big 12, while the Mountaineers (20-2, 9-2) are one-half game back of first place in coach Mark Kellogg’s first season.
The Lady Raiders return to action at 7 p.m. Saturday, when they host UCF as part of a doubleheader at United Supermarkets Arena. The Golden Knights (11-9, 2-8) are tied for last in the Big 12 but upset Iowa State in their last game. UCF hosts Cincinnati on Wednesday before heading to Lubbock.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: J.J. Quinerly leads West Virginia past Texas Tech women’s basketball
