MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University women's basketball team (23-6, 13-5 Big 12) opens postseason play in the Quarterfinal Round of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Women's Basketball Championship on Friday, March 7. The No. 4-seeded Mountaineers will face No. 5 Kansas State. Tipoff inside the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri is set for 12 p.m. ET.
 
The contest against Kansas State will be broadcast on ESPNU, with Eric Frede and Christy Thomaskutty on the call. The game can also be heard on the Varsity Network app, with Andrew Caridi and John Antonik providing live coverage. Live stats and game notes will be available on WVUsports.com.
 
The Mountaineers enter the tournament as a four-seed for the second time in program history. WVU is 0-1 all-time as the seed, last entering the tournament as the seed in 2019.  
 
WVU has advanced to the title game three times across 12 seasons, most recently making an appearance in 2021. WVU also reached the finals in 2014 and 2017. WVU won the conference tournament during the 2017 season as a six seed and defeated the top three seeds to collect the programs first conference title. The Mountaineers are 12-10 all-time in tournament play and added five trips to the semifinals.
 
Head coach Mark Kellogg has reached 23 regular season wins in both of his first two seasons in Morgantown. West Virginia finished with the fourth-best record in the Big 12 regular season at 13-5. His .774-win percentage as the man in charge is the best winning percentage by a WVU head coach in program history.
 
JJ Quinerly was named the Big 12's Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight season, an All-Big 12 First Team selection for the third time. Jordan Harrison earned her second straight all-conference honor this season after being named to third-team honors. Both Quinerly and Kyah Watson were two-of-five named to the conference's defensive team. Quinerly was a unanimous selection to both the first and defensive team as the Mountaineers had two features defensively for the second straight season.
 
WVU reached 13 Big 12 conference wins in a season for just the third time in 13 seasons. The five conference losses signify the second fewest in Big 12 play and the least since losing just two during the 2014 season.
 
Senior guard JJ Quinerly (20.5), junior guard Jordan Harrison (13.4) and junior guard Sydney Shaw (11.7) pace the Mountaineers scoring production this season. Quinerly's scoring average is the third-best in the conference and 16^th in the nation.
 
Harrison's 4.6 assists per game leads WVU and ranks 10^th in the Big 12. Senior guard Kyah Watson has grabbed 7.7 rebounds per game which ranks seventh in the Big 12 while her 3.3 steals per game ranks first and Quinerly's 3.1 steals per game is second. Both steals' marks rank top-10 in the nation.
 
The Big 12's leaders in steals last season, Watson (96), Quinerly (87) and Harrison (64), are at it again this season averaging over two steals per contest to all rank inside the top five in the conference. Junior guard Sydney Shaw and Senior guard Sydney Woodley have also gotten in on the action with 51 and 50 steals this season, giving WVU five players with 50+ steals through 29 games.
 
The Mountaineers have forced 15+ turnovers in 62 straight contests, the longest active streak in the nation. This season WVU has recorded 20+ turnovers in 22 games, to average 24.4 per game. The mark ranks third in the nation. The Mountaineers have forced 30-plus turnovers in six games, including a season-high 44. WVU ranks second in the nation with 14.2 steals per game.
 
West Virginia is averaging 76.3 points per game while outscoring their opponents by an average of 21.9 points.
 
Quinerly currently sits No. 5 on the all-time scoring list with 1,937 and is on pace to become just the third 2,000-point scorer in program history. Quinerly is 3^rd in steals with 318 and sits sixth all-time in Big 12 Conference history. Her 652 points this season are the seventh most all-time by a WVU player.
 
WVU finished the regular season the best defense in the conference. WVU led the Big 12 in scoring defense (54.4), steals (411), steal per game (14.2), turnovers forced (708) and turnover margin (+8.76).