Avalanche of mistakes dooms Houston women’s basketball in Big 12 opener against West Virginia

Like an avalanche roaring down from the Appalachian Mountains, West Virginia overwhelmed Houston from the opening tip, cruising to a 101-46 blowout win in Morgantown.

Once again, turnovers and shot selection plagued the Cougars throughout the game.

Houston committed 36 turnovers, which allowed the Mountaineers to score 43 points off them. 19 of those turnovers occurred in the first half alone. 

In comparison, West Virginia committed only 12 turnovers through four quarters.

Efficiency was another problem for the Cougars as they shot 41.5 percent from the field and 36.4 percent from 3-point range. In comparison, the Mountaineers shot 51.4 percent from the field and 47.8 percent from downtown.

West Virginia also dominated the boards with 40 rebounds compared to Houston’s 25, including 16 offensive rebounds compared to three for the Cougars.

Senior guard Sydney Shaw was the standout player for the Mountaineers. In 27 minutes, she scored 22 points (8-11 FG, 5-7 3P), had four rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Redshirt junior guard Gia Cooke, who played for Houston last season, cooked her former team, with 17 points (6-12 FG, 1-2 3P), four rebounds and three steals in 22 minutes.

Houston had only two players reach double-digit points, with junior guard Kierra Merchant and graduate forward Amirah Abdur-Rahim having scored 10 and 11 points, respectively.

West Virginia improves to 11-2, while the Cougars fall to 6-6.

Houston will have over a week of preparation for its Big 12 home opener, when it faces off against the No.10 Iowa State Cyclones on Dec. 31 at 1 p.m.