Cooke leads West Virginia against Kansas State after 24-point game

Published Jan. 3, 2026 4:43 a.m. ET
Associated Press

West Virginia Mountaineers (12-2, 2-0 Big 12) at Kansas State Wildcats (8-7, 1-1 Big 12)

New York; Sunday, 2 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: West Virginia plays Kansas State after Gia Cooke scored 24 points in West Virginia's 79-72 win against the Kansas Jayhawks.

The Wildcats are 4-3 on their home court. Kansas State scores 70.9 points and has outscored opponents by 5.7 points per game.

The Mountaineers are 2-0 against Big 12 opponents. West Virginia is fourth in the Big 12 scoring 82.2 points per game and is shooting 47.1%.

Kansas State scores 70.9 points, 14.8 more per game than the 56.1 West Virginia allows. West Virginia has shot at a 47.1% rate from the field this season, 8.1 percentage points above the 39.0% shooting opponents of Kansas State have averaged.

The Wildcats and Mountaineers face off Sunday for the first time in conference play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Brandie Harrod is averaging 6.1 points and 5.7 rebounds for the Wildcats. Taryn Sides is averaging 2.9 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

Cooke is averaging 16.9 points for the Mountaineers. Kierra Wheeler is averaging 14.0 points over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Wildcats: 5-5, averaging 68.6 points, 31.2 rebounds, 14.9 assists, 8.4 steals and 1.9 blocks per game while shooting 42.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 68.9 points per game.

Mountaineers: 8-2, averaging 83.4 points, 32.1 rebounds, 16.4 assists, 13.8 steals and 3.4 blocks per game while shooting 48.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 58.2 points.

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

share