West Virginia guard Gia Cooke handles the ball during a game earlier this season. (Photo by Benjamin Powell/The Dominion Post)

MORGANTOWN — The only thing longer than Gia Cooke’s list of basketball accomplishments just may be her medical chart.

“I’ve been to the hospital a lot,” the WVU guard said Friday, just before the 11th-ranked Mountaineers went out to practice for Saturday’s 5 p.m. game against Miami (Ohio) in the first round of the NCAA tournament, at Hope Coliseum. “Knee surgeries, shoulder surgeries, injections, yeah, it’s been a medical journey for me.”

First, there was a torn labrum when she was a freshman at Maryland that wasn’t truly diagnosed until she had transferred to Houston. At Houston is where she first tore her ACL, which forced her to sit out a season with a medical redshirt.

“Then, I had to have a second knee surgery to clean out some scar tissue,” Cooke said. “That pushed back my shoulder surgery.”

And, oh yeah, Cooke also had a lingering shin issue to deal with. It’s relayed to Cooke she just may be the Bionic Woman.

“Yeah, that may be true,” she replies with a smile.

What is also true is the impact Cooke has brought to the Mountaineers (27-6) this season, which goes beyond the fact she’s the leading scorer on the team at 14.7 points per game.

She’s the only player on WVU’s roster who already knows the feeling of playing for a host school in the opening rounds of the NCAA tournament. She’s the only player on WVU’s roster who has gone beyond the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Both came during her freshman season at Maryland, when the Terps advanced to the Elite Eight.

“Hosting is pretty cool,” she said. “The whole experience of March Madness that season was super cool. Being able to see those other great teams from different conferences and matching up against them, that was a lot of fun.”

Her playing time at Maryland was limited as a freshman. In those four NCAA games, she played a total of just 19 minutes, which played a role in her transfer to Houston seeking more of a pivotal role.

Then came the injuries, the surgeries, the rehab, all of it forcing Cooke to take a step back away from the game.

“It was definitely a different perspective,” Cooke said. “All I could do was watch. It was like I was becoming a student of the game. Then there was also the repetition of going through treatments and rehab every day. It was a lot. It was a mental game, for sure.

“It got to the point where I learned to appreciate the little wins. It was hard having to sort of relearn my body and build it back up. It’s hard only having one arm for a while. You know, just being able to pick my leg up, that was a win. Getting off my crutches was definitely a win.”

When Cooke finally got to play for Houston, the Cougars struggled and head coach Ronald Hughey resigned at the end of the season.

That sent Cooke back in the transfer portal, where WVU head coach Mark Kellogg was waiting.

“He saw something in me,” Cooke said. “I was coming from a team that didn’t have a good season, so that actually picked me up a little more.

“One of the first things (Kellogg) told me was how he thought I was a good player and that he thought I would be able to do some good things here. He definitely had a plan for me and that made me want to come here and accomplish good things. I wanted to be on a mission with him and the rest of the team.”

Cooke’s part on that mission saw her have 11 games this season with at least 18 points. She had her best shooting year and set a career high in steals.

“It just kind of matched up perfectly,” Cooke said. “The best thing is how everyone on the team gets along and how we all hang out with each other off the court. There is great chemistry.”

All of it has led Cooke right back to where she sort of started at Maryland, a host in the NCAA tournament with expectations of advancing.

“This time feels much different,” she said. “When you’re playing more, it just holds so much more significance.

“I believe all things happen for a reason. It’s been a journey for me, but it led me to West Virginia. I would go through it all again. I learned a lot about myself and who I am on and off the court and it led me to a great team and a great situation. Family is everything to me and I found a family here.”