West Virginia Hosts Kansas State on Tuesday

The Mountaineers will look for their second straight victory over the Wildcats this year

The West Virginia women’s basketball team will look to make it two straight victories over their Big 12 rival Kansas State on Tuesday night inside the WVU Coliseum at 7:00 pm.

The Mountaineers (14-7, 4-6) and Wildcats went at it earlier this year on January 5 as the Mountaineers walked away from Manhattan with a 74-63 win. Kysre Gondrezick led the way to victory on the day with 24 points which were followed by Tynice Martin’s 18 points and Madisen Smith’s 15 points. 

Angela Harris led Kansas State (10-11, 4-6) in scoring that same day with 16 points as the senior center has averaged 10.9 points per game this season, for third-best on the team, as well as snatching 3.6 rebounds per game. 

As for the Mountaineers, they have only come out on the winning side in two of their past eight matchups, against Texas on Jan. 12 and Iowa State on Feb. 2 when Gondrezick’s 21 points led West Virginia to a 79-71 nail-biting victory.

"Let's make no doubt about it we are struggling and I don't want to change everything because we were 10-1 at one time and it worked and they had confidence in it and all the sudden when you go back to what you used to they don't have confidence anymore," explained WVU head coach Mike Carey. 

The last two losses West Virginia has endured have come outside of the Coliseum while on a road trip to Oklahoma against the Sooners of Oklahoma as well as the Oklahoma State Cowgirls.

The loss to the Cowgirls on Saturday saw the Mountaineers lead early in the game before letting the lead go after a pair of Oklahoma State free throws in the final minute of regulation sank any hopes of a West Virginia win.

"We just didn't play smart during that stretch, I thought we played hard but it wasn't a lack of effort, we were missing shots and it was mental breakdowns on both ends," explained Carey. 

The last time the Wildcats came out they fell to No. 2/1 Baylor, 54-40 in what was their first loss since February 1 against Texas Tech. Although taking the defeat, Kansas State held Baylor to their lowest point total in five seasons and also outrebounded the Lady Bears, 44-43.

This season has been one of the milestones for the Wildcats as well as their 76-72 win at Texas Tech on Jan. 11 marked a tie for a school-record six straight consecutive Big 12 road wins. Kansas State holds a 276-294 overall record in road games over the program's 52-year history.

Freshman Ayoka Lee has popped off for her Wildcats this season while generating 12 double-doubles and becoming the sixth player in program history with 10 or more double-doubles in a season.

The Mountaineers and Wildcats will tip-off from the Coliseum tomorrow night at 7 p.m. which is a happy hour, faculty and staff night as well as a student giveaway night at the Coliseum.