Thursday, November 20
Morgantown, W.Va.
10:15 AM
West Virginia University
5-0,0-0Big 12
80
vs
51
Appalachian State
3-2,0-0Sun Belt
1
2
3
4
F
App State
13
16
6
16
51
West Virginia
19
27
19
15
80
Cooke, Wheeler Lead West Virginia to Education Day Victory
November 20, 2025 02:21 PM | Women's Basketball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University women's basketball team defeated Appalachian State, 80-51, on Thursday morning inside Hope Coliseum.
It was a day of career milestones for the Mountaineers as Head Coach Mark Kellogg collected his 500th career victory and graduate forward Kierra Wheeler recorded her 1,500th career point.
The win is the Mountaineers' fifth straight to open the season. It marks the third straight season the Mountaineers have won their first five games and the eighth time since 2000 the Mountaineers have reached a perfect 5-0 mark. Additionally, the win is the Mountaineers' 21st straight at home.
Playing in their first game since joining the AP top 25 poll, the WVU defense did what it does best, forcing App State into 27 turnovers. The miscues led to 30 points for WVU. West Virginia pounded the paint, where they scored 38 points from the high percentage area and forced the Appalachian State bigs into foul trouble.
Junior guard Gia Cooke finished with a WVU career high of 19 points. Wheeler finished with 15 points and a game-high five rebounds and five steals. Sophomore forward Jordan Thomas was the final Mountaineer in double figures with 10 points. Senior guard Sydney Shaw finished with just six points but dished out four assists and five steals.
Following a sluggish start and a 7-7 tie at the opening media timeout, WVU outscored App State 12-2 over three minutes to pull ahead 19-9. Appalachian State made four at the charity stripe to give WVU a six-point advantage after 10.
The WVU lead was trimmed down to just three points on the opening possession of the second quarter. It was as close as App State got to taking a lead in the contest, as WVU scored 15 straight points and would take a 46-29 lead into halftime.
West Virginia limited App State to just six points in the third quarter on their way to a 29-point win. The contest marked the fourth time this season the Mountaineers have hit 80 points.
Of note, the Mountaineers have not lost at home to a non-Power 5 opponent since Dec. 20, 2012, vs. Duquesne. Additionally, the Mountaineers have won 39 straight non-conference regular season contests inside the WVU Coliseum dating back to the 2018-19 season.
The contest was played in front of 10,067 students and fans, which marks the 3rd highest attended game in program history.
Next up, West Virginia heads to the Bahamas for the Baha Mar Pink Flamingo Championship from Nov. 24-26. The Mountaineers open the tournament against McNeese State on Monday with tipoff scheduled for 1:30 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on FloSports.
It was a day of career milestones for the Mountaineers as Head Coach Mark Kellogg collected his 500th career victory and graduate forward Kierra Wheeler recorded her 1,500th career point.
The win is the Mountaineers' fifth straight to open the season. It marks the third straight season the Mountaineers have won their first five games and the eighth time since 2000 the Mountaineers have reached a perfect 5-0 mark. Additionally, the win is the Mountaineers' 21st straight at home.
Playing in their first game since joining the AP top 25 poll, the WVU defense did what it does best, forcing App State into 27 turnovers. The miscues led to 30 points for WVU. West Virginia pounded the paint, where they scored 38 points from the high percentage area and forced the Appalachian State bigs into foul trouble.
Junior guard Gia Cooke finished with a WVU career high of 19 points. Wheeler finished with 15 points and a game-high five rebounds and five steals. Sophomore forward Jordan Thomas was the final Mountaineer in double figures with 10 points. Senior guard Sydney Shaw finished with just six points but dished out four assists and five steals.
Following a sluggish start and a 7-7 tie at the opening media timeout, WVU outscored App State 12-2 over three minutes to pull ahead 19-9. Appalachian State made four at the charity stripe to give WVU a six-point advantage after 10.
The WVU lead was trimmed down to just three points on the opening possession of the second quarter. It was as close as App State got to taking a lead in the contest, as WVU scored 15 straight points and would take a 46-29 lead into halftime.
West Virginia limited App State to just six points in the third quarter on their way to a 29-point win. The contest marked the fourth time this season the Mountaineers have hit 80 points.
Of note, the Mountaineers have not lost at home to a non-Power 5 opponent since Dec. 20, 2012, vs. Duquesne. Additionally, the Mountaineers have won 39 straight non-conference regular season contests inside the WVU Coliseum dating back to the 2018-19 season.
The contest was played in front of 10,067 students and fans, which marks the 3rd highest attended game in program history.
Next up, West Virginia heads to the Bahamas for the Baha Mar Pink Flamingo Championship from Nov. 24-26. The Mountaineers open the tournament against McNeese State on Monday with tipoff scheduled for 1:30 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on FloSports.
Team Stats
APP
WVU
FG%
.413
.563
3FG%
.294
.318
FT%
.800
.576
RB
31
28
TO
27
16
STL
6
17
Game Leaders
Pts
15
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballF
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