No. 18 WVU hosts No. 14 Kansas State with the hope of doing ‘something special’

The last two meetings between the Kansas State and WVU women’s basketball teams have been classics.

An afternoon 2 p.m. tilt Monday inside the Coliseum is the setting for the third matchup in a game that has major implications as to who may go on to win the Big 12 title this season.

“Obviously a huge game with Kansas State, who is playing really well,” WVU head coach Mark Kellogg said after the Mountaineers’ 69-50 victory against Cincinnati on Saturday. “They’re well coached and it’s a good opportunity for us to get a good quality win at home if we can do something special.”

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No. 14 K-State (24-3, 12-2 Big 12) has won the last two meetings with both games going down to the wire.

The first one was at Bramlage Coliseum, and the Mountaineers had a six-point lead heading into the fourth quarter, but the Wildcats came back for a 73-64 win in overtime.

In the Big 12 tournament last season, WVU guard J.J. Quinerly saw her last-second 3-point attempt rattle in and out, as K-State held on for a 65-62 win.

With just a day of preparation, Kellogg said no time would be wasted in getting ready for the Wildcats.

“They already have the scouting report,” Kellogg said. “We’ll bring them back (Sunday) for film. We’ll get them prepared a little bit differently than we might normally.”

In those two games against Kansas State, Quinerly was fantastic in both, combining for 50 points and she’s coming off a 29-point game in the win against the Bearcats.

“I haven’t really seen a lot of threes fall this season,” Quinerly said. “I’ve got to kind of step it up going into the postseason and everything else.”

The major difference today will be in K-State’s lineup, where 6-foot-6 center Ayoka Lee will not be on the floor for the Wildcats.

Lee suffered a fractured foot on Jan. 20, and has missed the last seven games.

Published reports have stated Lee is back to working out with the Wildcats again, but isn’t expected to return to the lineup until after Monday’s game.

K-State is 5-2 without Lee in the lineup so far.

As good as Quinerly was in the last two meetings against Kansas State, Lee was even better. She combined for 56 points and 23 rebounds in those two games.

As for the game itself, No. 18 WVU (20-5, 10-4) needs a win for any type of shot at competing for the Big 12 title.

K-State and Baylor are tied at the top of the Big 12 standings and TCU can join them with a victory against Arizona on Sunday.

Utah is also one game ahead of WVU in the league standings.

The Mountaineers face K-State, TCU and then Utah in consecutive games starting today. A loss against any of the three would officially knock the Mountaineers out of the race for a conference championship.

It may likely be a low-scoring game this time around. WVU and Kansas State are the top two defensive teams in the Big 12, with both schools holding opponents to less than 56 points per game.

“Making some shots would be great,” Kellogg said. “I think we’re battling defensively. It’s just we’re so inconsistent on the offensive end. That’s the struggle at times.”