MORGANTOWN — Things suddenly got interesting in the Big 12 women’s basketball standings Tuesday.
Just not for WVU.
Not after a 68-61 loss against Oklahoma State inside Gallagher-Iba Arena that gave the 24th-ranked Mountaineers their third consecutive loss.
This one definitely hurt, as Baylor’s 74-55 victory against Cincinnati tied the Bears with WVU for fourth place in the league standings with one game remaining in the regular season for both schools.
The Mountaineers (22-6, 11-6) lose that tiebreaker and would be the No. 5 seed in the Big 12 tournament if it were to start today.
Baylor swept WVU during the regular season, including a 66-65 win last week in which the Bears won the game with two free throws with 4.3 seconds remaining.
The top four seeds earn a double bye in the Big 12 tournament, meaning they don’t begin play until the quarterfinal round.
Oklahoma State (14-14, 7-10) won its second consecutive game in the series and led virtually the entire way.
Anna Asi kept pumping in shots from the outside to finish with 22 points, including one shot that came from the other side of the court, some 65-feet away, as the buzzer sounded for halftime.
By that time, Oklahoma State led 35-26, and the Cowboys kept up the pressure in the second half.
WVU was held to just 38% shooting from the floor (22 of 58). It’s been poor shooting that’s haunted the Mountaineers during their losing streak.
In the three losses, they’ve combined to shoot just 38.3%, and it’s been much worse from 3-point range.
WVU hit just 6 of 26 from behind the arc Tuesday. In the three losses, WVU is shooting 23.3% from 3-point range.
Jordan Harrison led the Mountaineers with 22 points and J.J. Quinerly added 17 more, but the duo were a combined 3 of 15 from 3-point range.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma State shot 49% (24 of 49) and outscored WVU in the paint 38-26.
Quincy Noble added 15 points for Oklahoma State.
Outside of Quinerly and Harrison, WVU didn’t get much help.
Lauren Fields, making her return to Stillwater, Okla., where she began her college career, scored eight points and Jayla Hemingway came off the bench to add six.
The Mountaineers return to Morgantown to host TCU at 1 p.m. Saturday to close out the regular season.
WVU needs a win and then a lot of help to get back into contention for the No. 4 seed. Baylor closes the regular season at home against Oklahoma State. Iowa State is also still in contention, meaning WVU could fall as far as the No. 6 seed.
