MORGANTOWN. W.Va. – The No. 20/19 West Virginia women's basketball team will face its toughest test of the season on Sunday when the Mountaineers welcome No. 3 Baylor to the WVU Coliseum on "I Belong" Day. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. on FS1.
Ron Thulin and Brenda VanLengen will have the call on FS1.
Dan Zangrilli and Meg Bulger call the game for the Mountaineer Sports Network from IMG. Fans can listen on Jack-FM 100.9 in the Morgantown/Fairmont area, as well as WVUsports.com, the WVU Gameday app, the TuneIn Radio App and various affiliates across the state. Fans can watch the game online at FOX Sports GO.
In collaboration with the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, "I Belong" Day is a celebration of diversity and inclusion hosted by the Mountaineers. Governor Jim Justice recognized the team's efforts and issued a proclamation declaring Jan. 28, 2018 at "I Belong" Day in the state of West Virginia. More than 40 community and student organizations will be set up for a pregame fair on the concourse with activities and giveaways.
Fans can use the promo code "I Belong" to purchase $2 tickets at WVUGAME.com. Tickets can also be purchased by calling 1-800-WVU-GAME or at the Mountaineer Ticket Office located at the Gold Gate. Students gain free admission with a valid WVU student ID. Due to the celebration, gates will open at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday.
"It's a great event" WVU coach
Mike Carey said. "It means a lot of things to a lot of different people. We're very proud to be able to host something like that and get that going at West Virginia University. Our staff came up with that idea and everybody's been great getting involved with all the organizations and groups. It's been fantastic."
The Mountaineers and the Lady Bears meet for the first time this season and the 15th time overall on Sunday, which will be a rematch of the 2017 Big 12 Tournament Championship game. WVU upset Baylor in a 77-66 victory to win the program's first-ever Big 12 tournament title last March. Baylor holds an 11-3 lead in the series, though West Virginia took the most recent meeting between the two.
It will be the fifth time both programs have been nationally ranked. Baylor is WVU's second top-10 opponent of the season as the Mountaineers fell to No. 8 Texas on Dec. 31.
WVU is coming off an 82-52 win over Texas Tech at the Coliseum on Wednesday. The win, the largest margin of victory in a Big 12 game this season for WVU, was also the program's 400th all-time win at the WVU Coliseum.
Junior guard
Katrina Pardee tied her career-high with six 3-pointers, producing her fourth 20-point game of the season as WVU nailed a season-high 13 3-pointers in the win. Senior forward
Teana Muldrow entered the program's all-time top 10 in scoring with 1,551 points, while senior guard
Chania Ray posted a season-high 18 points in the win. The Mountaineers also forced a season-best 30 turnovers, marking the first time since 2011 they have achieved the feat.
The Lady Bears enter the weekend with an 18-1 record overall and a perfect 8-0 mark in league play. Baylor is currently in the midst of a 15-game win streak, with the lone loss of the season coming at the hands of UCLA on Nov. 18. Most recently, the Lady Bears defeated Texas by a score of 81-56.
They rank second in the nation with 88.3 points per game and are shooting 51.4 percent from the field, and also boast the nation's best, ranking first in field-goal percentage defense, rebound margin and defensive rebounds per game.
Kalani Brown leads the team with 21.4 points per game, while two additional starters average in double figures in Lauren Cox (15.2) and Kristy Wallace (11.5). Cox also leads the rebounding with 9.9 boards per contest.
West Virginia hits the road on Saturday, traveling to Norman, Oklahoma to face Oklahoma at 3 p.m. EST.
