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PROVO — BYU women's basketball is making a habit of second-half rallies.
Head coach Amber Whiting would prefer to break it, though.
Lauren Fields poured in a game-high 22 points, and JJ Quinerly added 19 points and five rebounds as No. 23 West Virginia went up big before holding off a furious comeback attempt 76-69 Saturday afternoon in front of 1,754 fans at the Marriott Center.
Lauren Gustin had 16 points, 14 rebounds and two assists for the Cougars (12-11, 2-8 Big 12) in their third straight loss, and Lauren Davenport added 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting included three 3-pointers for BYU.
Kailey Woolston added 10 points for the Cougars, but also committed five turnovers. The Lone Peak grad and fellow freshman starter Amari Whiting combined for 11 of the team's 23 turnovers that West Virginia converted into 29 points.
"I feel like every time we step on the court we get better, but we can't start like that," Whiting said. "We cannot start the game with all those turnovers; it doesn't work for us. We've got to minimize that. I was pretty hard on them in the locker room, so hopefully they respond."
Whiting added in the postgame locker room that she told her team "it is getting old," referring to the turnover-prone Cougars that average 17.5 giveaways per game after facing the No. 1 team in the country in turnover margin (9.30) in West Virginia (19-2, 8-2 Big 12).
"At some point, we are going to see the light through the trees, but every time they step on the court they are playing together," Whiting said of the comeback attempt. "They are not finger pointing, they look like they're having fun and they love each other. Those are the things that make us. I always watch, and they aren't losing their fight. I got pretty passionate in the locker room and they know that I just believe in them. We all believe in them. They need to just keep fighting. One of these times we are going to get upset."
Back to back 3⃣'s for Dav 👀
— BYU Women's Hoops (@byuwbb) February 4, 2024
Link to watch👉https://t.co/SgEySfnBkJpic.twitter.com/wMtnkHpk3o
The Cougars trailed by as much as 12 en route to West Virginia's 43-29 halftime advantage, as the Mountaineers opened shooting 68.8% from the field.
Kaylee Smiler and Davenport hit back-to-back threes to pull the Cougars within five, 49-44, with 3:33 left in the third quarter.
But the Mountaineers held the hosts without a field goal for the final 1:51 of the quarter and Fields beat the buzzer on a 3-pointer to give West Virginia a 58-50 advantage ahead of the final frame.
Emma Calvert drained her second 3-pointer at the tail end of the shot clock to pull the Cougars within four, 64-60, midway through the fourth quarter. But BYU committed 23 turnovers and couldn't get any closer.
