MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Winners of their last eleven games inside the Coliseum, the WVU women’s basketball team will step onto their biggest broadcast stage during the regular season Sunday afternoon. The No. 20 Mountaineers (14-3, 4-2 Big 12) will host Iowa State at 1 p.m. in a game that will be broadcast by FOX.
Mark Kellogg looks on. Photo by Greg Carey
“We have five national TV games and this is one of those. I would love to let everybody see what they have here, what it looks like and put the environment on TV. Obviously, we need to do our part against a quality, quality, really good basketball team and one of the best coaches [Bill Fennelly] in the country who I have a ton of respect for,” said WVU head coach Mark Kellogg.
“It will be huge. We feed off it. We’ve had a great home identity for a couple years, a year and a half since I have been here. For the most part, we’ve had great crowds all year long. Hopefully we will have the best one of the season.”
“It is everything,” said WVU senior forward Kylee Blacksten. “We absolutely love our fans. It is going to mean so much to be able to kind of reach even more audiences and show them everything we can do.”
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The Mountaineers are coming off a 73-46 win over Colorado on Wednesday night at the Coliseum. West Virginia and Iowa State are in a tie for fourth-place in the Big 12 through six of 18 league games. WVU is 12th in the latest NCAA NET ratings.
Iowa State (13-6, 4-2 Big 12) opened the season ranked No. 8 in the AP preseason poll. However, non-conference losses to Final Four teams UConn, Iowa and South Carolina represent half of their six losses.
Iowa State Cyclones’ forward Addy Brown (24) goes for a layup around Texas Tech Lady Raiders center Achol Magot (10) during the fourth quarter in the Big-12 women’s basketball showdown at Hilton Coliseum on Sunday, Jan. 14, 2025, in Ames, Iowa.
The Cyclones are led by sophomore center and Preseason All-Big 12 selection Audi Crooks. She leads the Big 12 in scoring at 22.6 points per game. She is also tops on ISU in rebounding (7.7)
“I think teams have tried probably everything from doubles to fronts to play-behinds to different types of size. She’s a matchup problem every night probably against about every team in the country. I think when you play teams like this, there is some sort of ‘pick your poison’ approach to it. You don’t want to give up anything necessarily. But what are you willing to maybe give up a hair or sacrifice? We’ll continue to work through that,” Kellogg said.
“We’re deeper there. We’re in a better position. There’s more bodies. There’s a little bit more size to throw at her. It is resistance and different looks and different personnel to try to slow her down. You are not going to stop her. She is going to get points.”
Senior guard Emily Ryan is Iowa State’s all-time assist leader and she is averaging 6.4 assists per game this season.
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“She is a veteran. She has been around. She keeps her cool. She is very level-headed. She’s a fantastic passer, obviously,” Kellogg said.
6-foot-2 sophomore forward Addy Brown is second on the Cyclones in points per game (13.8) and rebounds per game (7.5).
“I just think Brown is an unbelievably good basketball player. Her mind, her IQ, she is very, very skilled. She scores at every level and she plays off of Audi really well,” Kellogg said.
WVU senior guard JJ Quinerly (1,659 points) needs seven points to pass Meg Bulger for eighth place on WVU’s all-time scoring list.
The West Virginia Mountaineers (10-3) welcome the Maryland Terrapins (10-5) to Kendrick Family Ballpark Tuesday afternoon the first encounter between the two programs since 2023 and the first meeting in Morgantown since 2018. The first pitch is set for 2:00 p.m. EST and the action will stream on ESPN+.
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The Mountaineers captured their fourth consecutive series of the season after taking two of the three games from Columbia over the weekend. West Virginia sophomore Matt Ineich and senior Brodie Kresser both blasted grand slams during the series. Ineich lifted WVU in game two with a walk-off grand slam in the 10th in game two, and Kresser ignited a 16-1 rout, capping a six-run second inning in the series finale.
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Gavin Kelly leads West Virginia at the plate with a .436 batting average with a Big 12 leading nine doubles. Ineich and senior Paul Schoenfeld has raked in a team-leading 16 RBI apiece, while senior Matthew Graveline has clubbed a team-high three home runs.
On the mound, West Virginia is expected to start sophomore David Hagen. The right-hander has made four appearances on the season, including one start. He last started in the home-opener against Ohio where he pitched two scoreless innings and recorded a strikeout to collect his first win of the season. He holds a 1.00 ERA with five strikeouts on the season.
After starting 3-4, Maryland is 7-1 in its last eight games. The Terrapins won two of three at UNC Wilmington in the season opening series, followed by a midweek win against Georgetown before getting swept at Louisiana. The Terps bounced back with a pair of midweek wins versus Delaware and swept a one-win Wagner team.
Junior Brayden Martin is batting a team-best .443 to go with four doubles and 12 RBI. Redshirt freshman Ryan Costello leads the Terps in home runs (9) and RBI (21) and is third in batting average at .328, while freshman Ty Kaunus has a team-high seven doubles and has .269 batting average.
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Maryland is scheduled to start freshman Nic Morlang. The right-hander has four appearances on the season, including four starts. He allowed five earned runs in his appearances, coinciding with his two starts, in six innings of work. In his last two appearances in relief, He’s allowed one earned run on five hits.
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West Virginia leads the all-time series 8-5, including a five-game winning streak over Maryland.
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Multiple law enforcement agencies responded to a series of parties in Morgantown over the weekend.
Morgantown police officers, West Virginia University Police and state police responded to reports of overcrowded parties, underage drinking, physical altercations and multiple injuries.
Morgantown Communications Director Brad Riffie said several citations were issued for open containers and underage consumption.
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Two large parties were dispersed and six arrests were made without incident.
None of the reported injuries are believed to be serious or life-threatening.
The Morgantown Fire Department assisted in the operations.
Hancock County, WV — A Weir High School senior has been recognized as the 2026 West Virginia Student Journalist of the Year.
Hailey Hans was selected for the statewide honor after building a journalism portfolio since her freshman year. She also serves as the staff manager of Weir Student Media, where she oversees articles and is in charge of deadlines.
“When I was a freshman I was placed in the journalism one class, and I actually tried to get pulled from the class. But, then after I sat in the class and I learned a little bit, that’s where my love grew and then from there I continued to take classes, I helped pass a law, and I got to these national conventions. Where it just lit a fire inside me,” Hans said.
Hans is planning to attend West Liberty University in the fall to study education with a minor in journalism, with the goal of becoming a journalism teacher. She will now submit her portfolio for the national-level contest.
