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WVU women's basketball makes thrilling jump in latest AP Top 25 poll

The Mountaineers continue to climb the polls after a dominant win last week.
ByJoseph Smith|
Jan 11, 2026; Ames, Iowa, USA; Iowa State Cyclones guard Evangelia Paulk (5) defends West Virginia Mountaineers guard Sydney Shaw (5) during the second half at James H. Hilton Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-Imagn Images
Jan 11, 2026; Ames, Iowa, USA; Iowa State Cyclones guard Evangelia Paulk (5) defends West Virginia Mountaineers guard Sydney Shaw (5) during the second half at James H. Hilton Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-Imagn Images | Reese Strickland-Imagn Images

The West Virginia Mountaineers are continuing to earn respect from the AP poll voters as women's college basketball enters the final week of the regular season.

WVU had a lighter week over the past seven days, with just one game on its schedule. However, they made the most of an opportunityagainst a Quad 2 opponentin the upper-half of the Big 12 standings as they welcomed the Oklahoma State Cowgirls to the Hope Coliseum in Morgantown and absolutely throttled their guests in a 32-point win, holding the top offense in the league to just 40 points.

That performance was enough to raise some eyebrows among the AP voters, as WVUjumped two spots in the pollfrom No. 19 overall to No. 17 overall. Other notable opponents of the Mountaineers this season that make an appearance in the latest poll are No. 11 TCU, No. 12 Duke, No. 13 Ohio State, No. 18 Baylor, and No. 20 Texas Tech – WVU owns wins over the Blue Devils and Bears, with one loss each to the Buckeyes and Red Raiders, and two losses to the Horned Frogs.

Moving on up 📈pic.twitter.com/hBMhK52vp7

— WVU Women's Basketball (@WVUWBB)February 23, 2026

The Mountaineers are also getting some significant respect from other polls and in several metrics used to decide the NCAA Tournament field and seeding. On the poll front,On3national women's basketball correspondent Talia Goodman had the Mountaineers at No. 19 in her weekly Top 25 poll released on Monday.

Meanwhile, WVUis sitting at No. 19 in the latest NET ranking, and No. 16 in the latest Wins Above Bubble (WAB), both of which are brought into heavy consideration when determining the NCAA field.

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