The K-State women’s basketball team will look to return to the win column with the program’s 150th conference victory tonight against West Virginia on the road in Morgantown, West Virginia.
Both K-State (11-5, 1-4, eighth in the Big 12) and West Virginia (11-6, 1-4, ninth in the Big 12) are looking to begin the trek upwards in the standings after a slow start in conference play. Only Kansas (9-9, 0-5) is ranked below the Wildcats and Mountaineers, though the two teams have faced rigorous tests in the early stretch of the conference season.
West Virginia is coming off a victory, though, and is hoping to continue the momentum picked up after the 61-49 road win over No. 21 Oklahoma State Saturday. Junior guard Bria Holmes scored her first-career double-double against the Cowgirls, as the Mountaineers stopped the bleeding of a four-game skid.
Holmes and senior forward Averee Fields lead West Virginia in scoring on the season, averaging 21 and 15.2 points per game, respectively. Though no players average double-digit rebounding, the Mountaineers rank first in the Big 12 in offensive rebounds per game and second in defensive rebounds per game.
K-State is looking to rally after two-straight losses by 20 or more points. The Wildcats are led by sophomore forward Breanna Lewis who has 56 blocks on the year and is averaging 12.3 points and 5.4 blocks per game. Only the Mountaineers have more blocks on the season than Lewis and K-State.
Senior guard Ashia Woods, too, has been a force for the Wildcats. Woods is averaging nine points and 6.6 rebounds per game, including eight points in K-State’s 79-59 loss to Iowa State Saturday.
K-State head coach Jeff Mittie is searching for his first-career win against West Virginia tonight. He is 0-4 all-time against the Mountaineers, including two losses last season by an average of four points when he was at TCU.
Though Mittie’s squad has performed well at home this season — only two losses at Bramlage Coliseum — road games have been an entirely different story. K-State is still searching for its first true road win of the season and is coming off a 22-point loss on the road against Oklahoma State on Jan. 14.
K-State and West Virginia tipoff from WVU Coliseum tonight at 6 p.m.
