MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — If all goes well for the WVU women’s basketball team over next weekend at the Big 12 Conference Tournament in Kansas City, the Mountaineers may earn at least another game inside Hope Coliseum. If not, the final home contest for WVU’s class of five seniors will be remembered as a record-breaking performance. The No. 17 Mountaineers rolled over Cincinnati, 118-60. West Virginia set a scoring record against a Division I opponent.
Four Mountaineers (three seniors) reached the 20-point mark. Sydney Shaw led the way with a career-high 24 points. Kierra Wheeler scored 21 points and she grabbed ten rebounds. Jordan Harrison also notched a double-double with 20 points and ten assists. Gia Cooke added 20 points.
“That was as complete of a game, I think, as we have probably played the entire season, said WVU head coach Mark Kellogg. “I am just proud of them for this one. Their energy was great, which I expected it to be with seniors, when you have five of them that have given a lot to this program.
“Did we put the whole 40 [minutes] together? No. We gave up 23 in the fourth quarter. That’s a little disappointing. I understand it. It was hard and we were having fun. The kids were relaxed. When you are making shots like that and you are defending at a high level, there’s fun to that and you can relax as a coach.”
In addition to her career-high in points, Shaw also set a new single-game personal mark with six three-pointers.
“It means the world only because I didn’t know,” Shaw said. “I was just out there playing. To hear that just felt amazing, especially to do that in front of the fans that came out to see us on Senior Night. If that is the last way I end it here, I am glad I ended it like that.”
“When you start to see one or two go with a kid like Sydney, that rim starts looking pretty big,” Kellogg said. “There were a couple of those where I don’t even know if she saw the rim. It was hand in face and you just have the feel.”
West Virginia led 30-9 after the opening quarter and they scored at least 25 points in all four quarters.
WVU connected on 15 of 30 attempts from three-point range and they shot 58 percent from the floor.
“That’s what I am probably the most pleased with, we are making perimeter shots at a much higher rate now than we were earlier in the year, which gives us a chance to have a little more balance on that end,” Kellogg said.
WVU’s senior class of Harrison, Cici Riviere, Shaw, Wheeler and Sydney Woodley took the floor as a group to start the fourth quarter before Kellogg substituted seniors out one-by-one to rounds of applause from the crowd of 6,095 fans.
“I was just ready to play,” Harrison said. “Once we got all the tears out and the good-byes, just knowing that it is not over. We plan on playing in this building again. It was pretty easy for me to get over it and just get ready to play.”
“The idea is that you try to get most of the emotion out yesterday, so we don’t have to do it today,” Kellogg said. “But all of a sudden, I look out there and a bunch of them are crying and emotional. We got over it pretty quick.”
Senior Day ceremonies for the WVU women’s basketball team:
Kierra Wheeler, Sydney Woodley, Cici Riviere, Sydney Shaw and Jordan Harrison: pic.twitter.com/PEIkScC3ts
— Joe Brocato (@joebrowvm) March 1, 2026
Midway through the fourth quarter, Riley Makalusky connected on back-to-back three-pointers, giving the Mountaineers a new scoring record against Big 12 opponents.
WVU turned the ball over just four times while the visitors had 18 turnovers. West Virginia swept the season series against the Bearcats after winning the meeting at Fifth Third Arena, 84-76 on January 18.
All 11 players on the WVU roster entered the game and played at least six minutes.
Mya Perry led Cincinnati (11-19, 6-12 Big 12) with 19 points.
Just like that, the #Big12WBB regular season comes to a close… but the best is yet to come.
Ladies and gentlemen: the OFFICIAL 2026 Phillips 66 Big 12 Women’s Basketball Tournament Bracket đź‘€ pic.twitter.com/VI7njw8a8L
— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) March 1, 2026
TCU denied West Virginia a chance at sharing the Big 12 regular season championship. The Horned Frogs (15-3 Big 12) defeated Baylor late Sunday to secure sole possession of the title. WVU will be the No. 2 seed in the Big 12 Conference Tournament. The Mountaineers will open play Friday at 6:30 p.m. in Kansas City against either Arizona, Arizona State or Iowa State.
The Top 16 teams selected by the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee earn hosting rights in the NCAA Tournament. WVU (NCAA Net ranking: 19), was not selected in Sunday’s reveal of the second committee rankings
“I am sure we need to win at least a couple games in the tournament,” Kellogg said of possibly hosting NCAA Tournament games. “I think if we win it, I would hope that would probably. But we may need a little help too. We may need some of those other 4-line teams to get beat. That’s something we really can’t put a whole lot of emphasis on.”