The No. 21 WVU women's basketball team moved to 6-0 on Monday afternoon as they kicked off the Baha-Mar Pink Flamingo Championship Tournament with an 83-63 win over the McNeese State Cowgirls. With the victory, the Mountaineers will advance to face Ohio State in the championship game of the bracket on Wednesday, November 26. Here are some initial takeaways from the win.
Gia Cooke Posts (Another) Career-High Scoring Performance
Gia Cooke keeps showing exactly why WVU head coach Mark Kellogg saw her as such a valuable pickup in the transfer portal. Less than a week after posting a career-best 19 points against Appalachian State, she went out in Monday's showdown with McNeese State and outdid herself once again by scoring 24 points to help lead the Mountaineers to victory. She's quickly sliding into a role as the main scoring weapon for the Mountaineers, and she now leads the team with 14.9 points per game through six contests.
Kierra Wheeler Flashes Potential As Bruising Post Player
A 6-foot-1 forward who transferred into the program for her final season, Wheeler finally showed her true skills in the post that made her such a highly-touted prospect. Wheeler averaged nine rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game last season at Norfolk State, but had just recorded two total blocks and 3.8 rebounds per game through five contests this year. On Monday, Wheeler recorded her first double-double of the season, tallying 12 points and 10 rebounds in the win, and also added two blocks to the stat sheet. If she can replicate this level of play consistently, which she has previously, she'll add a dangerous dynamic for the Mountaineers inside.
Free Throw Surplus In Encouraging
The Mountaineers found themselves at the charity stripe all game on Monday, earning 30 free-throw attempts on the afternoon and converting 23 of them. Meanwhile, McNeese State saw just six attempts and made only four of them. Being able to find ways to get to the line and score over 25 percent of your total points uncontested on free throws is a recipe for success, and whatever the strategy was to draw fouls on Monday was, it needs to be replicated moving forward.
All Five Starters In Double Figures
Every piece of West Virginia's starting rotation on Monday scored 10-or-more points, with Jordan Thomas and Jordan Harrison earning ten points apiece, Wheeler tallying 12, Sydney Shaw scoring 14, and Cooke leading the way with her career-high 24 points. One of the worst things that can happen to a basketball team is not having enough consistent scorers, because eventually your main offensive weapon will go cold in an important game, or an opponent will find a way to shut that player down. If WVU can have not just 2-3 consistent scorers, but the entire starting lineup able to do so, it'll make things much easier for this team down the stretch.