MORGANTOWN — The West Virginia women’s basketball team may be sore, bruised and a little rough around the edges heading into its final two games of the regular season.

That notion was tossed at WVU head coach Mark Kellogg. Sitting right next to him at the time was junior guard Gia Cooke. Her lip was busted and her right eye looked as if it had taken an elbow shot. Back in the locker room, WVU guard Sydney Shaw had just received stitches to her lip after taking another blow to the face.

With March Madness just around the corner, Kellogg sat there calmly and explained now is not the time for his team to worry about things such as pain.

“Gia is a tough kid, we knew that when we got her,” Kellogg began. “She brings a level of doesn’t care type of attitude. To the kid’s credit, she just keeps coming back.”

There is much to come back for these days with the 17th-ranked Mountaineers (22-6, 12-4 Big 12), who travel to struggling UCF (10-17, 2-14) at 7 p.m. today.

Never before – since the NCAA moved opening-round games to campus sites in 2022 – has WVU been this close to March with a real shot at getting to host one of the 16 regionals. A Big 12 regular-season title is still up for grabs, although it would be one split between WVU, TCU or Baylor (or all three) if the Mountaineers are fortunate enough to get there.

Again, these Mountaineers aren’t concerned about this or that, just the facts

“We don’t care if TCU loses and we have to split it, to me, that’s still a Big 12 title,” Kellogg said. “That’s goal No. 1 is to be a Big 12 champion.”

It is a bottom-line business at this point for the Mountaineers. Pain matters little. That’s evident by the fact both Cooke and Shaw will be in WVU’s starting lineup today. Conference titles can still be had. A chance at making history is within reach.

All the Mountaineers have to do is take care of business, meaning WVU can’t mess around with UCF today. It can’t foul up in Morgantown against Cincinnati in the regular-season finale on March 1.

WVU would then finish as either the No. 2, No. 3 or No. 4 seed in the upcoming Big 12 tournament. The Mountaineers are currently trending as the popular pick for the No. 2 seed, meaning their first trip to the Big 12 finals since 2021 dangles right in front of them.

“We’re just excited to play,” is the way Cooke explained it. “We keep our foot on the gas and never take it off. We still have to take care of the ball a little better, but we have the right mindset.”

That mindset has carried WVU – so far – past numerous obstacles. It only had five players available to play the second half against Duke, yet found a way to win. The Mountaineers were beaten at the buzzer by TCU, yet two weeks later beat up on Baylor by 10 points.

“We have a lot to play for as we continue through this season,” Kellogg said, as if anyone on his team needed to be reminded of that.

A win is what matters. Against UCF, the Mountaineers already own one victory against the Knights, a 106-56 win on Feb. 11. In that game, WVU forced 23 turnovers and out-rebounded UCF, 42-26. WVU is 5-0 all-time against UCF.

The Mountaineers will also be coming off maybe their best defensive performance of the season in a 72-40 victory against Oklahoma State last Saturday. The Cowgirls are the highest-scoring team in the Big 12, yet WVU held them to less than half their season average.

Cooke scored 21 against Oklahoma State, the seventh time this season WVU’s leading scorer went for at least 20 in a game. Kierra Wheeler went for a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds, her eighth game this season with at least 10 rebounds.

“This time of year, I want them to be physically fresh, mentally excited and prepared,” Kellogg said. “If you can do that, you’re in a really good spot in late February.”