West Virginia remains the only state to have seceded from another in U.S. history, with its journey to independence rooted in the Northern Panhandle.

Deep within the walls of West Virginia Independence Hall in Wheeling runs a decision that changed Virginia’s history forever.

In the 1860s, Western Virginia lawmakers were not on the same page as those in Richmond — and sought out to become a separate state.

And that’s where Independence Hall plays a part.

“Wheeling was the second largest city in the state of Virginia at the time, and it needed a custom house that was service to the Ohio River because Wheeling was a port of delivery,” Independence Hall site manager Debbie Jones said.

Considerably the most famous area in the building is the third-floor courtroom. There, Gov. Harrison Pierpont signed the state’s constitution in 1862.

Along the way, though, leaders first considered another name: Kanawha.

“And they decided most people don’t know how to say it, let alone spell it, so they decided to keep the name of the mother state, which was Virginia,” Jones said.

So, West Virginia was born.

On June 20, 1863, the Mountain State seceded from Virginia and embarked on its own journey.

Jones says with a new state, came a new culture — a culture that began in Wheeling.

“I always say West Virginia, we don’t have beaches, we don’t have professional sports teams, amusement parks, but we have us. We have our people,” she said.

Today, Independence Hall tries to preserve the power that it holds, from hosting political events to the state’s history bowl and its annual birthday celebration on West Virginia Day.

“Come on down and see what’s in your own backyard,” Jones encouraged. It’s the only birthplace of the state of West Virginia.”

Fast break

Why the Buffs lost: West Virginia’s defense locked down the Buffs in the second half, holding them to 21 points and forcing 10 turnovers.

Three stars:

1. West Virginia’s Jordan Harrison: Scored a game-high 18 points and racked up six steals.

2. CU’s Jade Masogayo: Finished with a team-high 13 points while also pulling down five rebounds.

3. West Virginia’s Gia Cooke: Scored six of her 12 points in the fourth quarter and also finished with three rebounds.

Up next: The Buffs host No. 14 TCU on Sunday (1 p.m., ESPN+).

Opportunities to beat nationally ranked opponents don’t come around often.

The Colorado women’s basketball team had one of those opportunities on Wednesday and let it slip away.

No. 20 West Virginia cranked up its defense in the second half and held on for a 61-55 victory against the Buffaloes at the CU Events Center.

“I’m disappointed in that one,” CU head coach JR Payne said. “I thought we certainly had our opportunities. West Virginia’s a really good team. I mean, they’re No. 20 in the country for a reason, but I think when we turn on the film, we’re going to see that there was a lot of really missed opportunities that were us, whether that’s lack of execution or soft passes or not executing or whatever.

“Games like this are super frustrating because it’s such a cool opportunity to have a great team on your home floor as you’re climbing in the rankings in the conference and all of that. So I’m pretty bummed about the outcome, but certainly we played hard. We competed.”

CU never (15-8, 6-5 Big 12) never trailed by more than nine and even that deficit lasted just 14 seconds. The Buffs also never seized the lead in the second half, as they struggled offensively against one of the best defensive teams in the country.