MORGANTOWN, W.Va.
– The West Virginia women's basketball team will host its annual Play4Kay pink game on Saturday when the Mountaineers welcome Oklahoma to the WVU Coliseum for a 3 p.m. EST tipoff. The game will air AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh.
The Mountaineers will don pink socks, shoes and headbands as well as jerseys with pink accents in honor of women's cancer awareness as part of the Play4Kay campaign. Each player will wear a shooting shirt featuring the name of someone who has been affected by cancer. Fans are encouraged to wear pink as part of the team's efforts, and can purchase the official WVU pink t-shirt with a contribution of $10 or more to WVU Medicine. Admission is free to all fans courtesy of WVU Medicine.
In addition, WVU women's basketball alumnae will be honored prior to the game.
Robby Incmikoski and Meg Bulger will have the call for AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh.
Dan Zangrilli and
Ayana Dunning will call the action for the Mountaineers Sports Network from IMG. Fans can tune into the game on The Ticket: WMMN 95.7 FM/920 AM in Fairmont/Morgantown, as well as WVUSports.com and the WVU Gameday app.
West Virginia (19-7, 7-7) and Oklahoma (13-12, 8-6) meet for the second time this season and the 16th time overall on Saturday. WVU is undefeated against OU in Morgantown, boasting a 5-0 mark since 2013. The Mountaineers have won three of the last five contests in the series, but have dropped two of the last three to the Sooners. WVU defeated OU, 83-73, in the last meeting in Morgantown (Jan. 8, 2017). This week's contest marks the first time since March 7, 2015, that neither team has been ranked and is the fifth time in the history of the series that neither team has been nationally ranked.
"We've realized that we need to win a couple more games," coach
Mike Carey said. "We've got to come out and do it. We've got to come out and play hard, play intense. We need to do what we do well, try to defend them and don't let them do what they do well."
The Sooners picked up a 76-57 victory over the then-No. 21 Mountaineers on Feb. 3 in Norman. Junior guard
Katrina Pardee led the scoring with 13 points, while senior forward
Kristina King had 12 and junior guard/forward
Naomi Davenport had 11. Senior forward
Teana Muldrow was held to just one field goal for the first time in over a year, but led the team with 11 rebounds. Muldrow and freshman guard
Ashley Jones both fouled out of the game.
WVU rolled to its second straight win on Wednesday with a 76-46 victory over Kansas at the WVU Coliseum. Muldrow notched a double-double with 21 points and 11 rebounds, marking her 11th double-double of the season (good for third in the league) and the 21st of her career. With 508 points in her senior campaign, Muldrow moved into eighth place on the WVU senior season leaders list. The Mountaineers allowed just 46 points - a season-low in Big 12 play. Additionally, Kansas shot just 25 percent from the field - also a season-low for the Mountaineers.
Oklahoma enters Saturday's contest with a 13-12 overall mark and an 8-6 record in conference play.
Like WVU, OU's most recent win came over Kansas as the Sooners defeated the Jayhawks, 72-52, on Feb. 10. The Sooners average 75.6 points per game and 39.2 rebounds per game and are shooting 44.3 percent from the field, 34.1 percent from downtown and 67.6 percent at the free-throw line. Five players average in double figures, led by Vionise Pierre-Louis at 15.5 points per game. Pierre-Louis also leads the rebounding effort with 8.5 boards per contest and boasts a team-high 20 blocks. Shaina Pellington is averaging 12.6 points per game and has totaled a team-best 58 assists on the season.
WVU hits the road early next week, traveling to Manhattan, Kansas, for a Tuesday tilt with Kansas State. Gametime is slated for 8 p.m. EST.
