MORGANTOWN — Playing perennial Big 12 women’s basketball powerhouse Baylor is tough enough, but losing your leading scorer and top defender in the first quarter, it makes the task near impossible.
For WVU, head coach Mike Carey needed to find answers and find answers quickly Saturday at the Coliseum when guard KK Deans fell to the ground underneath her team’s basket, appearing to twist her right knee.
Deans left the floor and returned to the bench a few minutes later with her knee wrapped, but at the end of the first quarter, disappeared into the tunnel and did not return.
All the while, the Mountaineers had their hands full against the Bears, and a bad first half saw WVU trailing 51-21 at the break, eventually leading to an 87-54 loss.
The Mountaineers (10-8, 3-5 Big 12) came in winners of two straight, but ran into a buzzsaw in the first half. Baylor (15-4, 6-2) shot 64% from the field at 22 of 33 in the first two quarters, while WVU shot an abysmal 23% at 8 of 35.
The Bears also made 5 of 8 3-pointers, while the Mountaineers didn’t get one to fall at 0 of 7.
Forward Kari Niblack also picked up two fouls in the first four minutes, forcing her to the bench for the remainder of the first half.
“We didn’t come out and start the game well,” Carey said. “We thought if we could get (Baylor forward NaLyssa) Smith into foul trouble, then we could get it going with Kari. Instead, it was Kari who got in foul trouble. When KK went down, people were taking shots they don’t normally take. We were rushing it, we weren’t defending and the next thing you know…
“They’re too good for us to play that way.”
The Mountaineers were also without forward Ari Gray, who missed the game to attend a family funeral. It was also announced last week guard Jasmine Carson was no longer with the program.
Deans’ injury puts Carey in a difficult position with guard depth already limited. Point guard Madisen Smith played all four quarters, while Savannah Samuel exceeded her season minutes average by 14, doubling her effort from the typical 13 minutes per game to 27:14 against the Bears.
Freshman JJ Quinerly played 23 minutes and her role will likely continue to expand.
Carey did not say the severity of Deans’ injury, but in the meantime, he will need to make adjustments.
Forward Esmery Martinez led WVU in scoring with 13 points, the only Mountaineer to score in double figures.
Baylor was led by Smith and Queen Egbo, who each scored 20 points and combined to shoot 19 of 22 from the floor. Sarah Andrews also scored in double figures with 15 points.
“Those two girls (Smith and Queen) are great players,” Carey said. “I think Smith’s a top five pick in the draft this year.”
WVU will travel to TCU to take on the Horned Frogs at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.
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