03/08/26 06:19:00
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03/08 18:18 CDT Harrison helps No. 15 West Virginia beat No. 10 TCU 62-53 for
the women's Big 12 Tournament crown
Harrison helps No. 15 West Virginia beat No. 10 TCU 62-53 for the women's Big
12 Tournament crown
By DAVE SKRETTA
AP Basketball Writer
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) --- Jordan Harrison scored 20 points, Sydney Shaw added
17 and No. 15 West Virginia avenged two regular-season losses to No. 10 TCU by
beating the reigning Big 12 Tournament champion 62-53 in the conference title
game on Sunday.
Harrison also had six rebounds and four assists while wreaking havoc on
defense, and Kierra Wheeler contributed 10 points, helping the second-seeded
Mountaineers (27-6) win their second Big 12 tourney title and first since the
2016-17 season.
Olivia Miles, the league player of the year, scored 17 points for No. 1 seed
TCU (29-5) despite playing most of the way in foul trouble. Marta Suarez added
16 points but was just 6 of 19 from the field and fouled out in the final
minute.
West Virginia led 56-43 with 90 seconds left before TCU ran off seven straight
points to provide some hope. But Harrison, a senior from Oklahoma City, calmly
made two free throws with 33.4 seconds remaining to help put the game away.
TCU handed the Mountaineers two of their six regular-season losses, both in
defensive slugfests: 51-50 on Jan. 14 and 59-50 just over a month later. And
their meeting for the conference championship had the same feel as the first
two in the trilogy.
Whichever team broke 50 first would win.
The Mountaineers took a 26-23 lead into halftime, relying on their full-court
pressure to take TCU out of its offensive rhythm. At one point, the pesky
Harrison turned a turnover by Suarez into a coast-to-coast layup, and on the
next possession, Shaw created another turnover that Taylor Bigby converted into
another easy layup.
Miles was providing the only consistent offense for TCU. But she picked up her
third foul with 2:54 left in the first half and took a seat next to coach Mark
Campbell on the bench, and West Virginia scored seven unanswered leading into
the break to take control.
Then, Miles picked up foul No. 4 just 39 seconds into the second half.
The transfer from Notre Dame played most of the way, but she wasn't nearly as
aggressive, and her supporting cast struggled to pick up the offensive slack.
West Virginia relentlessly pressured the Horned Frogs on the defensive end, and
Mark Kellogg's team was able to turn enough of that defense into offense to
begin pulling away.
Up next
The Mountaineers will likely be seeded fourth or fifth in the NCAA Tournament
and hit the road for their first-round matchup.
The Horned Frogs are likely to host first- and second-round March Madness games
on campus, just like they did last season. And if they advance, they could play
in one of the two regionals being played at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.
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