MERCYHURST (0-7, 0-0 NEC) at No. 25 WEST VIRGINIA (6-2, 0-0 BIG 12)
Friday, Dec. 5 – 7:00 p.m.
TV: ESPN+
 
The Mercyhurst women's basketball team is set to meet West Virginia for the second time Friday evening at Hope Coliseum. The teams met for the first time in 2008 with WVU taking an 88-38 victory.
 
The Opponent
West Virginia comes into Friday's matchup ranked 25th in the AP poll. The Mountaineers are 6-2 overall and 4-1 at Hope Coliseum with the lone loss coming Monday against Villanova. Their other loss came against Ohio State in the Baha Mar Championship.
The Mountaineers had a notable win over Duke in the Greenbrier Tipoff tournament 57-49.
WVU returned five players from last season after reaching the second round of the NCAA Tournament where they fell to #12 North Carolina.
 
Last Time Out
Mercyhurst went down to the wire with Robert Morris Wednesday morning at the Mercyhurst Athletics Center. The Lakers scored their most points of the season, but couldn't secure the win, falling to RMU, 73-71.  
Jenna Van Schaik matched her career high in points in the game with 28 while Cici Hernandez contributed 19 and Sofia Wilson tacked on 12.
The Lakers had just nine turnovers in the contest while forcing RMU into 19 giveaways, but couldn't stop the Colonials down low, giving up 48 paint points.
 
Heating Up Hernandez
Sophomore guard Cici Hernandez has scored 19 and 20 points in back-to-back games. 20 is her career high set at Canisius with five makes from 3.
 
Taking Care of the Ball
The Lakers had a season low in turnovers against Robert Morris, coughing up the ball just nine times. Their nine turnovers were the fewest since they had just six in a 72-71 loss to Seton Hill in February 2023.
 
Familiar Face
Mercyhurst head coach Erin Mills-Reid spent time on West Virginia head coach Mark Kellogg's staff when he was at Stephen F. Austin from 2021-23.  Kellogg and Mills went 45-12 in those two seasons, making an NCAA Tournament and a WNIT appearance.
 
Switching it up
Mercyhurst head coach Erin Mills-Reid has gone with a different starting lineup in every game so far this season.
 
Heating up from deep
The Lakers are shooting it at a 30 percent clip from beyond the arc this season, good for third in the NEC.
Mercyhurst has the second-most 3-point attempts in the NEC with 192. FDU is the only squad with more, taking 203 3-point shots, making 35 percent of their attempts.
 
Ranked Opponents
The Lakers are set to play their third top 25 opponent of the nonconference slate Friday. Mercyhurst took on then #23 Michigan State to open the season and #12 Iowa State on Nov. 23. The Mountaineers come into the matchup ranked 25 in the most recent AP Poll.