The West Virginia Mountaineers Women’s Basketball team (11-2, 1-0) will square off against the Kansas Jayhawks (10-3, 0-1) on Thursday. Let’s look at which squad has the edge in this matchup. Read more: WVU Mountaineers at Kansas Jayhawks Preview – Jan. 1, 2026.
Tipoff
When: Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026 @ 1:00 PM EST
Where: Allen Fieldhouse, Lawrence, KS
TV: ESPN+
WVU improves to 11-2 with another dominating double-digit victory
Following a pair of losses to Ohio State and Villanova, the Mountaineers responded with four straight double-digit victories heading into their matchup against Houston.
That trend continued against the Cougars, with WVU jumping out to a 19-2 lead on its way to a 42-21 halftime lead. Any hopes of a comeback by the Cougars were dashed, as the Mountaineers outscored their opponent by a 39-13 margin in the third quarter en route to a wire-to-wire 101-46 victory.
Read: WVU women’s basketball records first conference win against Houston
Six players reached double figures for WVU. Sydney Shaw led the way with 22 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field. She also tallied four rebounds and three assists while connecting on five of her seven attempts from 3-point range.
Riley Makalusky was the standout performer for the second unit. She contributed 15 points and knocked down five of her six attempts from beyond the arc.
The Mountaineers won the rebounding battle 40-25. Additionally, WVU converted 36 Houston turnovers into 43 points.
WVU also imposed its will on the interior, holding a 50-22 advantage in the paint. This outing marked the first time in the program’s history that the Mountaineers surpassed the century mark, and the 55-point victory was the largest victory margin in a conference game.
Kansas hopes to bounce back from a buzzer-beating loss to Iowa State
The Jayhawks were riding a four-game win streak before their Dec. 21 showdown against the undefeated Iowa State Cyclones.
Kansas came back from an 11-point deficit, and a layup by S’Mya Nichols tied the game at 76 with 5.2 seconds left to play. Unfortunately, this was more than enough time for ISU’s Kenzie Hare to hit the game-winning 3-point basket as the game clock expired, handing the Jayhawks their third loss of the season.
Nichols produced a solid, all-around performance for Kansas. Her final stat line included a team-high 29 points, along with seven assists and five rebounds.
Libby Fandel added 18 points on 7-for-16 overall and 4-for-9 from long range. The Jayhawks have dropped each of the last three meetings against ISU, and they have not won in Ames since 2015.
WVU vs. Kansas: Who has the edge?
With five consecutive double-digit victories under their belt, look for the Mountaineers to come out on top, albeit by a small margin.
Prediction: West Virginia
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