West Virginia

Kansas State women’s basketball comes up short against West Virginia in Big 12 quarterfinal

Published

12 months ago

March 7, 2025

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Kansas State women’s basketball comes up short against West Virginia in Big 12 quarterfinal

Now the wait begins.

The fifth-seeded Kansas State women’s basketball team jumped on No. 4 seed West Virginia with a torrid first half but couldn’t hold off the Mountaineers down the stretch Friday as they dropped a 73-69 Big 12 Tournament quarterfinal decision at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City.

With the loss, No. 19-ranked K-State fell to 26-7 and will have to wait for a week from Sunday to see if its resume is good enough to warrant a top 16 seed as host for the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament.

No. 16 West Virginia, which swept two games from the Wildcats — the Mountaineers won 70-57 in Morgantown — moves to face TCU or Colorado on Saturday.

K-State was up 33-23 after one quarter, 44-36 at halftime and took a 58-56 advantage to the fourth period. The Wildcats led 69-67 when Kennedy Taylor scored the last of her team-high 21 points with 1:52 left but was shut out the rest of the way.

West Virginia took a 71-69 lead on JJ Quinerly’s basket with 43.4 seconds left and tacked on two Sydney Shaw free throws at 11.4 seconds to preserve the victory. Quinerly had 24 points, Jordan Harrison 19 and Shaw 13 to lead the Mountaineers.

In addition to Taylor, K-State got 16 points from Temira Poindexter and 10 with nine assists from Serena Sundell. K-State again was without center Ayoka Lee, who is recovering from a foot injury but is expected back for the NCAA Tournament.

Here are three takeaways from a disappointing loss for K-State:

Wildcats came out on fire

K-State made an incredible 13 of 15 shots in the first quarter, including 5 of 6 3-pointers, while only turning the ball over three times against West Virginia’s pressure defense.

Alas, the Wildcats shot just 38.8% and were 3-for-12 from 3-point range the rest of the way. The Wildcats did take better care of the ball against a swarming West Virginia defense with 15 turnovers after they had 21 in the regular season matchup.

In fact, K-State outscored West Virginia off turnovers, 20-15, though 19 of those points came in the first half.

Kennedy Taylor comes up big

Kennedy Taylor didn’t start at center for K-State, but she quickly made up for it. Taylor made all nine of her shots in 21 minutes of action coming off the bench for Eliza Maupin.

Maupin matched up better underneath against West Virginia starter Kylee Blacksten, but when the bigger Jordan Thomas entered the game, Taylor quickly came off the bench.

The Wildcats consistently found Taylor on the low block, where West Virginia could not stop her.

Mountaineers win the game at free-throw line

K-State fouled just 14 times to 19 for West Virginia, but the Mountaineers got to the foul line 21 times to just 10 for the Wildcats.

Shaw made all five of her foul shots and Quinerly 4 of 6 as the Mountaineers outscored K-State from the line, 16-7.

Arne Green is based in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett network. He can be reached at agreen@gannett.com or on X (formerly Twitter) at @arnegreen.

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West Virginia

Why is Popular Bracketologist Still Considering West Virginia for NCAA Tournament?

Published

3 hours ago

March 5, 2026

Press Room

Why is Popular Bracketologist Still Considering West Virginia for NCAA Tournament?

Losing to Kansas State wiped away all hope for West Virginia to make the NCAA Tournament. That seems to be the clear consensus in the Mountain State, but is there actually still a chance? Well, I guess so.

ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi still has West Virginia listed as a team to consider, the second team outside of the “next four out” grouping.

Lunardi’s current NCAA Tournament bubble

Feb 28, 2026; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers guard Honor Huff (3) shoots a three point shot over BYU Cougars guard Robert Wright III (1) during the second half at Hope Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images | Ben Queen-Imagn Images

Last Four Byes: Missouri, Texas A&M, Texas, Ohio State

Last Four In: SMU, Santa Clara, New Mexico, Indiana

First Four Out: VCU, Auburn, Virginia Tech, Cincinnati

Next Four Out: San Diego State, USC, California, Seton Hall

Next: Stanford, West Virginia, Oklahoma, Arizona State

How is this even possible?

Feb 28, 2026; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers head coach Ross Hodge watched a play from the sideline during the first half against the BYU Cougars at Hope Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images | Ben Queen-Imagn Images

Short answer? I don’t really know.

My best guess as to why? Two things: the respect for the Big 12 and the opportunities left on the table, and two, an incredibly weak bubble.

Should West Virginia beat UCF on Friday, it will give the Mountaineers a 9-9 record in Big 12 play. That’s not as much of a guarantee to make the dance as having a winning record, but still, it’s an impressive mark, especially when, in this instance, they would have wins over Kansas, BYU, and sweeps over Cincinnati and UCF.

If you ask me, they still have too many bad losses for it to matter. I mean, even if they got red-hot out of nowhere and made it to the Big 12 championship game next week, is that enough? Potentially, but that’s a big IF.

The one thing WVU does have on its side is the number of Quad 1 wins, which they have five of. Virtually every other team in college basketball that has a minimum of five Quad 1 victories is expected to make the tournament. In that previously mentioned scenario, they would add at least one more Quad 1 win in the conference tournament, giving the committee something to think about.

The bubble is just incredibly weak, though. Like, how in the world is Auburn, who is 16-14 currently, the second team out of the field? Cincinnati, which WVU swept and has the same record as, is the fourth team in the “first four out” grouping.

At this point, the only path I see is for the Mountaineers to cut down the nets in Kansas City — good luck with that. We could be having a very different conversation if they didn’t lallygag their way through the first 30 minutes of the games against Utah and Kansas State.

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West Virginia

Buckle up: West Virginia launching seatbelt enforcement campaign Friday

Published

15 hours ago

March 5, 2026

Press Room

Buckle up: West Virginia launching seatbelt enforcement campaign Friday

Buckle up, Upshur County. Starting Friday, March 6, law enforcement officers across West Virginia will step up seatbelt enforcement as part of a statewide Click It or Ticket campaign running through March 23.

The West Virginia Governor’s Highway Safety Program (GHSP) announced the high-visibility mobilization as a warm-up to the national seatbelt campaign in May. The goal is to ensure every occupant — front seat or back, driver or passenger — is buckled on every trip.

“During this mobilization, law enforcement officers across West Virginia will be out in full force. They will be strictly ticketing drivers who are unbuckled or who are transporting children not properly restrained in car seats,” said Jack McNeely, Director of the GHSP.

The numbers behind the campaign are sobering. In 2023, 40% of passenger vehicle occupants killed in West Virginia crashes were unrestrained. The state’s seatbelt usage rate has also slipped — from 91.9% in 2024 to 91.6% in 2025.

Rural drivers face elevated risk despite a common assumption that country roads are safer. In 2023, 65% of the state’s traffic fatalities occurred in rural areas, compared to 35% in urban centers.

Under West Virginia law, wearing a seatbelt is required. A citation carries a $25 fine, though McNeely says the real point isn’t the penalty.

“Click It or Ticket isn’t about the citations; it’s about saving lives,” he said. “A ticket is a wake-up call. It is far less expensive than the alternative — paying with your life or the lives of your family and friends.”

For more information about the West Virginia Governor’s Highway Safety Program, visit highwaysafety.wv.gov or call 304-926-2509.

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West Virginia

West Virginia man accused of threatening Trump, ICE agents indicted

Published

1 day ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

West Virginia man accused of threatening Trump, ICE agents indicted

CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WCHS) — A West Virginia man accused of threatening to attack President Donald Trump and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement workers was federally indicted this week.

Cody Lee Smith, 20, of Clarksburg was indicted on two counts of threats to murder the president, one count of influencing and retaliating against federal officials by threat of murder and one count of influencing a federal official by threat of murder, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of West Virginia.

Smith is accused of making a series of public posts on Instagram encouraging and threatening the murder of Trump, those who support him, Israelis and “all government officials,” the news release said.

The indictment also alleges that Smith sent a direct message via Instagram to Donald J. Trump, Jr., stating he would kill his father by cutting his “jugular.”

In a phone call with the ICE tip line, Smith also threatened to kill ICE agents in Clarksburg and employees staffing the tip line.

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Smith faces up to 5 years for each of the presidential threat charges and faces up to 10 years in federal prison for each of the remaining counts.

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