MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The third quarter of Wednesday’s contest against 17th-ranked Texas Tech was among West Virginia’s best this season from an offensive standpoint.
What followed in the fourth, however, was perhaps the worst 10-minute stretch on that end through 16 contests. The Mountaineers missed numerous decent looks and shot 3 for 19 from the field and 6 for 12 on free throws in the final frame, while squandering a six-point advantage with inside 8 minutes remaining and falling to the unbeaten Red Raiders, 71-66.
“We took one bad shot that I didn’t like at all and had a bad turnover late, but we got 19 shots off in the fourth quarter and most were pretty good looks,” WVU head coach Mark Kellogg said. “We just didn’t convert. The defensive end concerns me as much as the offensive end. Giving up 40 points in the second half is way too many.”
Of WVU’s three fourth-quarter buckets, only one within the first 9:34 — a layup from Kierra ‘MeMe’ Wheeler with 7:10 remaining that left the home team with a 58-53 lead and came directly after Texas Tech’s Bailey Maupin had made a three-pointer.
Despite the offensive struggles, WVU dug in enough defensively to maintain a 61-57 advantage with inside 2 minutes remaining before the game turned in the visitors’ favor over a 7-second stretch.
Snudda Collins scored on a drive to the basket, while being fouled by Carter McCray in the process. With 1:59 left, Collins stepped to the free-throw line but was unable to convert the three-point play. Tech’s Jalynn Bristow came up with a pivotal offensive rebound, and found Maupin on the perimeter, who drained her fourth and final triple to give the Red Raiders (17-0, 4-0) a 62-61 lead at the 1:52 mark.
“They’re really good in the third quarter and I would venture to say we’re really good in the fourth quarter from previous games,” Red Raiders’ head coach Krista Gerlich said. “I’m not real sure fatigue played a factor in it as much as our kids just kind of locked down, really tried to defend and we got better on the glass. They missed a lot of easy shots early in the fourth quarter and that maybe played toward fatigue, but our kids did a good job on the glass and limiting second-chance opportunities, and we quit fouling a bit.”
Jordan Harrison missed a pair of threes on WVU’s ensuing trip, before Maupin made two free throws for a three-point advantage with 38 seconds left.
“What a basketball game. We knew coming in this was going to be a huge challenge and I’m super proud of our kids for being resilient for four quarters,” Gerlich said.
Harrison scored from close range 13 seconds later, but the Red Raiders continued to excel from the free-throw line and Collins made a pair for a 66-63 lead with 20 seconds to play.
Maupin then stole a Gia Cooke pass and made 1-of-2 free throws to make it a two-possession game, before another Mountaineer turnover all but ended any hope of late heroics for the home team.
“We made a lot of mistakes. They sped us up a little bit, but the mistakes we made were on us,” Harrison said. “When we go back and watch the film, we’ll see there was an easier way to score — slow down and read the defense.”
The third period was a far different story as WVU (13-3, 3-1) overcame a 31-28 halftime deficit by making 10-of-13 shots in what amounted to a 25-point frame. Harrison was the catalyst for the success, scoring 11 points on 4-for-4 shooting and dishing out three assists, while McCray continued to be a presence inside and scored seven points on 3-for-3 shooting.
But Texas Tech managed 19 points in the third to stay well within striking distance, with the Red Raiders making half of their six three-point attempts in that quarter, including both from Denae Fritz.
“You’re up six in the fourth, you’re supposed to find a way to win that game,” Kellogg said.
The entirety of the game was played within six points, with Tech’s largest lead coming at 29-23 after a Collins triple.
McCray and Harrison combined for the next five points, before Maupin capped the first-half scoring with a pair of free throws. She scored 11 of her game-high 27 points through two quarters and 13 more in the fourth.
“No basketball game is all ups and no basketball game is all downs,” Maupin said. “It’s finding a balance between your highs and lows and managing that to be able to come out with a win.”
Collins scored 19 points to help her team finish with a 25-2 advantage in bench points.
Tech finished with a 37-33 rebounding edge, and despite having 16 offensive boards to WVU’s 18, the Red Raiders accounted for 20 of the game’s 28 second-chance points.
“We got a lot of offensive rebounds and didn’t convert very many of them,” Kellogg said.
Harrison led four WVU double-figure scorers with 22 points and added five rebounds and five assists.
McCray added 15 points and Wheeler scored 11 to go with a team-best nine boards. Sydney Shaw scored 10 but shot 4 for 14, while Cooke was held to six points on 2-for-9 shooting.
The Mountaineers forced 20 turnovers, but managed only four steals.
“We had too many things go wrong that we had control of,” McCray said, “and that led to our detriment in the end.”
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They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.
At this point, Paul Hardesty, President of the West Virginia Board of Education, must be on the precipice of losing his mind. During a recent call with reporters, Hardesty again emphasized the dire financial outlook for the state’s public schools. Enrollment continues to decline, and more school closures and consolidations may be coming next year.
It’s not the first time Hardesty has sounded the alarm.
Hardesty has repeatedly pointed out that public schools are withering under the current school-aid formula and burdensome regulations.
Some state lawmakers have received the message but during the 2026 60-day legislative session, while there was more discussion that legislative action is needed to address growing financial strains, ultimately, there was not enough political will for state lawmakers to take any action.
Senator Amy Nicole Grady, R-Mason, chairs the Senate Education Committee and is a public school teacher. She has spent the last three years trying to educate her fellow legislators about the frustrations teachers and school officials deal with on a daily basis.
“We know it’s nothing new. It’s something we have discussed for at least three years now, knowing that we need to move forward and change that formula in some way. But how we change it, that’s the challenge,” Grady said during an appearance on Metronews Talkline.
Grady recognizes the “how” is the major stumbling block for legislators who must make difficult decisions and must then face unhappy constituents.
“It’s very, very difficult, and this is something that’s big that really takes a lot of thinking, and it can require a lot of hard, difficult decisions, and you also have that model of self-preservation.
“A lot of people are thinking, this is hard for me to make this decision. I don’t want to make this decision because it could mean my seat. But when it’s the right thing, it’s the right thing regardless.”
House Education Committee Chairman Joe Statler, R-Monongalia, has also been on the front line trying to build a case for legislators to support major changes. Statler has repeatedly emphasized the gap in special education funding, where costs continue to outpace revenues.
The number of special education students continues to grow, now making up nearly 21 percent of the student population.
It is not only the legislature that has not found the political fortitude to address public education. It has not been a priority for the executive branch either.
Gov. Morrisey focused his political capital on accelerating the elimination of the personal income tax and preventing changes to the Hope Scholarship.
You can’t help but question whether the lack of action is due to a lack of political will or indifference to public schools’ failure. There’s no doubt that outside interest groups, many of which have supported legislative campaigns, have indicated a preference for alternative education choices.
Either way, if lawmakers continue to ignore the tidal wave of financial failures in the public education system, they will have abdicated their constitutional duty to provide West Virginia students with a “free and efficient” education system.
For the first time since the 2015-16 season, the West Virginia Mountaineers women’s basketball roster will feature a West Virginia native.
Wheeling product Alexis Bordas transfers in after having a tremendous freshman season up the road at Duquesne, where she averaged 15.5 points (ranked fifth in the A-10) and 3.1 rebounds per game while shooting 34.6% from beyond the arc. At season’s end, she was named to the A-10 All-Rookie Team.
Morgantown’s Olivia Seggie was the last West Virginia-born player on the women’s hoops roster.
Of course, WVU was Bordas’ dream school. Pretty much her entire family went to school here and grew up coming to Mountaineer games, so Mark Kellogg probably didn’t have to do much convincing once he made it known that they wanted her.
“Chase Harler’s from Wheeling, so I came to a lot of his games. Jevon Carter, my brother, loved him. We watched a lot more of the men back then, but Kysre Gondrezick, she was someone that I always watched.”
When asked what it’s like to finally be in a Mountaineer uniform and practicing with the group, she responded, “Yeah, it’s great to finally be here and get to meet all my teammates and become such good friends with them already. It’s been super fun, and just seeing the difference from day one to now, and how much we’ve progressed already, it’s super exciting to see.
“All the fan support last night, we had an event, and just seeing all the fans and how it’s June, and everyone’s already so excited and rallies around this team,” she added. “I know it’s extra special being from West Virginia, and I’m sure lots of little girls will look up to me and hope to be playing here one day, so it’s great to be a role model for them, too.”
Nine times last season, Bordas registered 20+ points, and of course, as a true West Virginian would, she had her best performance against the Pitt Panthers, dropping 38 on them in an 84-69 win. She went 11/22 from the field in that one, including a 10/18 day from three-point range.
Bordas is a high-volume shooter from range, as 58.8% of her attempts came from downtown last season. When you shoot 34% from there and can maybe hit the high 30s, no one will care about the shot diet being so reliant on the three-ball.
Under the new rules, Bordas will have four years of eligibility remaining.
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