Instant Takeaways from WVU's Second Half Thrashing of UCF

The Mountaineers earned their second win over the UFF Knights by a score of 74-62 on Wednesday night in Orlando at Addition Financial Arena. The Mountaineers went into the half trailing, but battled back for a comfortable win.

Here are some instant takeaways from West Virginia women’s hoops' 23rd win of the season.

West Virginia Proves They Can Overcome Slow Starts

It was a very slow first half for the Mountaineers. West Virginia trailed 27-25 at halftime, but came out in the third quarter firing on all cylinders. Within the first minute of the third quarter, the Mountaineers had regained the lead off of a Gia Cooke layup and a tough finish inside by Carter McCray.

West Virginia went on to have a 31-9 run in the third quarter, leading by as many as 21 to propel them to victory. The way that the Mountaineers were able to regroup and go on a run in the second half shows that this team is built to win in many ways. They have depth at guard in particular that can keep them in the game against almost any team in the nation.

The Mountaineers Have Depth Everywhere

When the Mountaineers came out of the second half, it ended up being guards Gia Cooke and Jordan Harrison who led the way, scoring the ball. Harrison, who scored 16 points against UCF, in particular, has displayed through her three seasons at West Virginia that she fits perfectly into head coach Mark Kellogg’s defensive style of basketball. Harrison has also been molded into a solid offensive player. Cooke leads the team in points per game and leads the team with 19 points tonight. When the Mountaineers need a bucket, they can count on the experience of Cooke and Harrison down the stretch.

Meme Wheeler and Carter McCray had nearly identical stat lines that included 12 points and 7 rebounds each. Having Wheeler and McCray capable of rebounding with just about anybody in the Big 12 is part of what West Virginia has been missing during Kellogg’s tenure. This truly does feel like the most complete team of the Kellogg era thus far.

The win moves West Virginia to 14-4 in Big 12 play and 24-6 overall. The Mountaineers sit behind only TCU in the Big 12, with Baylor a game back and WVU owning the head-to-head victory over the Bears. Kellogg and his crew will finish their 2025-26 regular season campaign on Sunday against the Cincinnati Bearcats at Hope Coliseum. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ with tipoff scheduled for 1 p.m.