Turnovers plague Cougars in upset bid of No. 18 West Virginia

PROVO, Utah — BYU had three players finish in double figures in its 66-53 loss to No. 18 West Virginia at the WVU Coliseum on Saturday night.

“We are never going to win a game with 31 turnovers,” said head coach Amber Whiting. "West Virginia did their thing, they turn people over, and that is what we did tonight."

The Cougars held a two-point lead at halftime after controlling much of the first half, however, a flurry of turnovers that led directly to West Virginia points early in the third made the BYU lead disappear.  The Mountaineers held the advantage for the remainder of the game, leading by as many as 15 to hand the visiting Cougars their third Big 12 loss of the season.

BYU turned it over 31 times against West Virginia, the second-most turnovers in a game since 2002, which led to 33 of the Mountaineers' 66 points on the night. The Cougars shot 47.7 percent from the field on 44 shot attempts while WVU shot 34.7 percent on 72 field goal attempts.

Kemery Congdon led BYU with a season-high 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting, making all four of her offerings from deep. The senior transfer from Cal grabbed five rebounds, dished two assists and recorded a block in the loss.

Emma Calvert was 6-of-11 from the field on the night for 13 points while grabbing 13 rebounds to record her third career double-double. The senior carded three blocks, two steals and an assist to aid BYU’s upset bid.

Amari Whiting was the third Cougar in double figures on the evening as she went 3-fo-6 from the field for 10 points. She knocked down 1-of-2 shots from behind the arc, her second-straight game with a three, to go along with seven rebounds and three assists.  

First Quarter

On the first Cougar possession, Kemery Congdon found a cutting Delaney Gibb for a layup to take an early 2-0 lead. After a score by Emma Calvert in the paint, Gibb picked up her second foul just 2:43 into the first quarter and had to take a seat.

After a WVU three, Amari Whiting and Lauren Davenport scored on consecutive possessions to pull within one at 10-9 with 5:07 left in the first. Out of the media timeout, Whiting hit Congdon in the right corner for three to take a 12-10 advantage.

BYU pushed its advantage to six at 16-10 after back-to-back scores by Calvert with 2:45 to play in the opening frame. With the clock ticking down, Kendra Gillispie hit a cutting Kambree Barber for a driving layup to take a 20-13 lead into the break.

Second Quarter

Whiting opened the scoring in the second as the sophomore drove the lane and scored off the glass with the left hand. The Mountaineers countered with seven-straight points to knot the game at 22 with 6:08 to play in the half.

Congdon settled BYU down with a right-wing triple to end the scoring drought and take a 25-22 lead with 4:53 on the clock. Calvert bumped the lead to five with a score off the glass, assisted by Whiting.

A Mountaineers three cut the BYU advantage to two at 27-25 before Brinley Cannon hit Congdon with a cross-court pass for her third three of the night. West Virginia hit a three at the buzzer to pull within two at the half, 30-28.

Third Quarter

Congdon picked up right where she left off, hitting a floater to get into double figures with 11 points and give BYU a four-point advantage. Two West Virginia triples took back the lead for the first time since the 5:07 mark of the first quarter.

Off an inbounds play, Gibb hit a cutting Calvert to knot it at 34 before six-straight points by WVU’s JJ Quinerly gave West Virginia a 40-34 lead with 6:01 left in the third. Congdon’s fourth triple of the game stopped the run before a fourth-consecutive score for Quinerly. Gibb immediately answered with a triple of her own to pull BYU within two at 42-40.

West Virginia closed the quarter with a 7-2 run to take a 49-42 lead into the final ten minutes.

Fourth Quarter

Congdon again started the scoring for BYU with a jumper off the glass to open the fourth. After the score, BYU committed three turnovers on consecutive possessions, each leading to WVU scores to push the lead to 13 at 57-44. After a Cougar timeout, West Virginia again scored to push the lead to a game-high 15.

Whiting ended the 10-0 run with a left-wing triple with 6:29 to play but the Cougars couldn’t get a field goal to drop for 5:31 until Gibb made a floater with 58 seconds left. The Mountaineers finished the fourth on a 16-9 run to down the Cougars 66-53.

Up Next

The Cougars return home next week for a two-game homestand as the Houston Cougars and Kansas State Wildcats visit the Marriott Center. The Wednesday and Saturday matchups will be streamed on ESPN+ and broadcast on BYU Radio.