KANSAS CITY, Mo. – No. 2 seed WVU beat No. 6 seed Colorado, 48-47, to advance to the championship game of the Big 12 Women’s Basketball Tournament. They face TCU tomorrow, Sunday, March 8, at 5 p.m. Eastern. WVU struggled from the floor in the matchup, but made big shots when it mattered most. This is WVU’s third game against TCU this season, and they lost both by a combined 10 points. Read more: WVU pulls off a nail-biter to advance to the Big 12 championship.
It was an offensive struggle for both teams in the T-Mobile Center. WVU shot 30.5% from the floor, and Colorado shot 36.2%. They shot a combined 5-25 from behind the arc. The Mountaineers made shots when it mattered most, however. They shot 5-11 (45.5%) in the fourth quarter, making one three-pointer on three attempts.
“We just talked through what we saw in the first and then tried to kind of help that through, you know, kind of move some posts around a little bit to get them into some different spots to give Meme maybe more room to operate,” Head coach Mark Kellogg said of the adjustments made at halftime. “And then when she got the room, she was able to finish. She made the huge pass to Gia on the big three. So some unselfish basketball there, too. So just taking what the defense gave us.”
WVU got a lot more production from the starters in the second half. Gia Cooke scored 12 points in the second half, while Kierra “Meme” Wheeler had 10. Jordan Harrison added six points to her nine first-half points. The team scored only 17 points in the first half and matched that total in the third quarter. Unfortunately, they struggled in the final four minutes of the quarter, going on a four-minute scoring drought.
First quarter
Colorado won the tip-off and scored from a layup by Anaëlle Dutat off an assist from Jade Masogayo. Carter McCray got the Mountaineers on the scoreboard with an offensive rebound and put-back. Jordan Harrison gave WVU a 5-2 lead with a three-pointer off an assist from Sydney Shaw. Zyanna Walker made two free throws to cut into the early deficit.
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Kierra Wheeler got an offensive rebound and scored for WVU, and Harrison followed it with a driving layup. WVU led 9-4 at the first media timeout of the game. Walker made a layup following the media break to cut WVU’s lead to three points. Desiree Wooten scored on a drive on the baseline, and Dutat gave Colorado after a Harrison missed three-pointer.
Harrison scored with a solid up-and-under move to regain the lead for the Mountaineers. She went coast-to-coast after a defensive rebound, scoring her ninth point of the opening quarter. Wooten responded with a layup, assisted by Logyn Greer. WVU led 13-12 after the first quarter.
Second quarter
The start to the second quarter was slow, as neither team scored for the first two and a half minutes of action. Shaw made the first basket with a jump shot from the foul line, assisted by Célia Rivière. Greer immediately answered with a step-back jump shot for Colorado. Walker gave the Buffaloes a one-point lead with a jump shot.
Gia Cooke earned a trip to the free-throw line with five minutes remaining. She scored her first points of the game by making both of them to give WVU a 17-16 lead. A scoring drought plagued both teams in the final stretch of the first half. Colorado had a five-minute scoring drought, going 0-6 from the field during that stretch. Wooten ended the drought from the line, making one of two attempts. WVU ended the first half on a five-minute scoring drought, going 0-9 from the field. The game was tied, 17-17, at halftime.
At the break
WVU’s offense struggled in the first half, shooting 7-31 (22.6%) from the field. Harrison led the Mountaineers with nine points, all scored in the first quarter. The rest of the starters had two points apiece. WVU lost the rebounding battle, 23-19, but had six points off turnovers and four second-chance points.
Walker led the Buffaloes with six points, while Wooten had five off the bench. Colorado shot 7-25 (28%) from the field, and went 0-7 from behind the arc. They had six turnovers, but managed 10 points in the paint.
Third quarter
Harrison scored a layup at the end of the shot clock to start the second half. WVU forced a 10-second violation, which led to another basket from Harrison. Masogayo scored the first point for the Buffaloes from the charity stripe by making one of two attempts. Wheeler followed it with a layup and earned a trip to the line within 15 seconds after a Colorado turnover on the inbounds. She made one of two free throws at the line to give WVU a 24-18 lead.
Walker made a layup to give the Buffaloes their first field goal in the half. McCray found Shaw on the other end for a three-pointer from the corner. Greer made a jump shot on the other end, making the score 27-22. A Harrison steal led to a Cooke layup on the fast break before a 30-second timeout.
Cooke made an impressive layup after a Colorado and was fouled on the shot. She made the free throw to give WVU a 32-22 lead. Wheeler was fouled with just over 4 minutes remaining in the quarter and converted both. Walker was fouled on the other end for the Buffaloes and made both to get the game back to 10 points. Masogayo made a tough jump shot in the lane to get Colorado within single digits.
Masogayo scored again after a WVU turnover by Wheeler. Walker got to the line after a couple of misses from WVU. She made both free throws to pull within four points with 16 seconds remaining in the quarter. WVU finished the quarter on a four-minute scoring drought, which resulted in an 8-0 Run for Colorado. WVU led 34-30 heading into the final quarter.
Fourth quarter
Walker scored the first points of the final quarter with a layup assisted by Masogayo. Wheeler was fouled, but only converted one free throw at the line. Wooten brought the Buffaloes within two points by making one of two at the line with seven minutes remaining in the game. Cooke made a driving layup on the other end to stretch the lead back to four points.
Wooten responded with a three-pointer from the corner, late in the shot clock. McCray turned the ball over, which led to the Buffaloes taking the lead. Walker made a jumpshot, which forced a timeout from WVU head coach Mark Kellogg. Wheeler scored a layup on the block out of the timeout to give WVU the lead.
Colorado regained the lead with a driving layup from Masogayo, but Wheeler scored in the paint on the other end. WVU led 41-40 with three minutes remaining. Cooke made a layup to extend the lead to three points following a Colorado missed three-pointer. Greer hit a jump shot from the elbow to pull the Buffaloes within one point.
The final minute
Wooten made a three-pointer from the top of the key with one second remaining on the shot clock, which gave Colorado a 45-43 lead with one minute remaining. Cooke answered on the other end with a three-pointer of her own to give WVU a 46-45 lead. It came after a Harrison miss, which Cooke rebounded.
Masogayo missed a turnaround jump shot on the other end, and Wheeler fought hard for the rebound. Kellogg called a timeout to draw up a play for the inbound after a Colorado foul on the rebound. WVU got the ball into Harrison, who was fouled with 16 seconds remaining. She made both free throws to extend the lead to three points.
Wheeler fouled a shooting Wooten to give her three free throws with 2.9 seconds remaining. She missed the first and made the final two as Colorado trailed 47-46. Cooke was fouled before the ball was thrown in and missed both attempts at the free-throw line. Colorado called a timeout after the rebound to advance the ball, but Harrison stole it before Colorado could shoot. WVU won 48-47 to advance to the Championship game against TCU.
Top performers
- J. Harrison (WVU): 15 points/5 rebounds/1 assist/4 steals
- G. Cooke (WVU): 14 points/3 rebounds
- K. Wheeler (WVU): 12 points/10 rebounds/1 assist/ 1 steal
- D. Wooten (COL): 14 points/2 rebounds/1 assist/1 steal
What’s next?
WVU advances to the championship game of the 2026 Big 12 Women’s Basketball Tournament. They play at 5 p.m. Eastern on Sunday, March 8, against TCU from the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri.
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