WVU Women's Basketball to Return to The Greenbrier to Face Big Ten Opponent

Mark Kellogg's squad will return to where magic happened.

WVU Athletics

Mark Kellogg and the West Virginia women's basketball team are coming off one of their most successful seasons in program history, and expectations for the 2026 season are sky-high.

Despite losing star players like Jordan Harrison and Meme Wheeler to graduation, Kellogg has hit the portal hard to ensure the Mountaineers remain competitive this season. West Virginia will head back to a familiar place where they made history last season to open their 2026 campaign.

The team announced on their X account on Thursday that they will play a neutral court game in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, in The Greenbrier Tipoff at Colonial Hall against the Northwestern Wildcats on Friday, November 13th.

Are you ready for a little more Greenbrier magic 🪄

Excited to be back at the Greenbrier Tipoff this year for a matchup with Northwestern!

📰 https://t.co/1VKU3zMwIL#HailWV pic.twitter.com/JNl1HJPIbK

— WVU Women's Basketball (@WVUWBB) July 23, 2026

The Mountaineers will return to play at Colonial Hall after a memorable win over then 15th-ranked Duke Blue Devils. The Mountaineers not only won that game, but miraculously came back from a halftime deficit with only five available players.

A brawl near the end of the first half forced West Virginia to play the entire second half with only Sydney Shaw, Sydney Woodley, Riley Makalusky, Celia Riviere, and Loghan Johnson. The miracle victory earned those players the moniker of “The Greenbrier Five.”

The Mountaineers won’t have to take on a ranked opponent at The Greenbrier this season, but they will be facing someone they are familiar with. Northwestern bottomed out last season, finishing with an 8-21 overall record. The program hit the reset button and hired former Princeton head coach Carla Berube.

Berube had built a consistent winner at Princeton, winning the Ivy League five times in her seven-season tenure. The Tigers and Mountaineers met in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament during Kellogg’s first season in Morgantown. West Virginia bested Princeton in the contest 63-53, later falling to Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes in the second round.

Mark Kellogg has reached at least 25 wins in each of his first three seasons as head coach of the Mountaineers, but this season may be his most challenging yet. Guard Gia Cooke is the only returning Mountaineer who played significant minutes last season. Cooke was the team's leading scorer last season and figures to be the first option on offense.

The team also prioritized adding scoring pieces in the portal with the additions of Marquette forward Skylar Forbes and Duquesne guard Alexis Bordas. The expectations to get back to the NCAA Tournament and compete for another Big 12 Conference title are still there for WVU after losing many key pieces, and the journey there will all start at The Greenbrier.