West Virginia
West Virginia falters late in 71-66 loss to 17th-ranked Texas Tech – WV MetroNews
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.”
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The following events happened on these dates in West Virginia history, compiled by the West Virginia Humanities Council from its online encyclopedia, e-WV.
April 19, 1896: Writer Melville Davisson Post was born in Harrison County. His best-known works are the Randolph Mason series, published in three volumes, and the more successful collection Uncle Abner: Master of Mysteries.
April 19, 1902: Author Jean Lee Latham was born in Buckhannon. She wrote a number of children’s books, including Carry On, Mr. Bowditch, which won the 1956 Newbery Award.
April 20, 1823: Gen. Jesse Lee Reno was born in Wheeling. He graduated from West Point in 1846 with another cadet from western Virginia, Thomas J. Jackson, later known as “Stonewall.” Reno was the highest-ranking officer from present West Virginia killed in the Civil War.
April 20, 1863: President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation that in 60 days, West Virginia would become a state. The occasion was marked 100 years later during the state’s Centennial celebration with a special ceremonial session of the West Virginia Legislature on April 20, 1963, in Wheeling.
April 20, 1909: Fiddler Melvin Wine was born near Burnsville in Braxton County. A favorite of old-time music enthusiasts nationally, he was chosen as a National Heritage Fellow in 1991 by the National Endowment for the Arts — the highest recognition given to a folk artist in the United States.
April 20, 1939: Poet Irene McKinney was born in Belington, Barbour County. Gov. Gaston Caperton appointed her state poet laureate in 1993, and she served in that capacity until her death in 2012.
April 21, 1908: Musician Phoeba Cottrell Parsons was born in Calhoun County. Parsons’ traditional clawhammer banjo style, unaccompanied ballad singing, riddles and storytelling have influenced countless younger musicians.
April 21, 1936: President Franklin Roosevelt established the Jefferson National Forest. The West Virginia portion of the forest includes about 19,000 acres in Monroe County.
April 22, 1908: Marshall “Little Sleepy” Glenn was born in Elkins. Glenn coached basketball at West Virginia University from 1934 to 1938 and football from 1937 to 1940. He was inducted into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame in 1992.
April 22, 1948: Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter and musician Larry Groce was born in Dallas, Texas. He is best known as the longtime host and artistic director of the Mountain Stage radio program.
April 22, 2003: Activist Judy Bonds, a Raleigh County native, received the Goldman Environmental Prize for her fight against mountaintop removal mining. Her efforts inspired thousands and turned a local West Virginia issue into a national cause.
April 23, 1857: Andrew S. Rowan was born in Gap Mills, Monroe County. Rowan, a military officer, was chosen as the messenger when President William McKinley wanted to send a message to Cuban Gen. Calixto Garcia during the Spanish-American War. The 1899 pamphlet A Message to Garcia made the incident famous.
April 24, 1865: McNeill’s Rangers surrendered to Union troops at New Creek — now Keyser. The Confederate guerrilla force probably never numbered more than 100 men at any time but managed to inflict regular damage on Union operations.
April 25, 1863: In what became known as the Jones-Imboden Raid, about 1,500 Confederate soldiers under Gen. William “Grumble” Jones advanced through Greenland Gap, a deep pass through New Creek Mountain in present Grant County. The Confederates encountered 87 Union soldiers who held off several assaults before finally surrendering.
April 25, 1923: Union leader Arnold Ray Miller was born at Leewood on Cabin Creek in Kanawha County. In December 1972, he defeated Tony Boyle to become president of the United Mine Workers and served until 1979.
e-WV is a project of the West Virginia Humanities Council. For more information, contact the council at 1310 Kanawha Blvd. E., Charleston, WV 25301, call 304-346-8500 or visit wvencyclopedia.org.
During the Gold-Blue spring game on Saturday, the West Virginia coaching staff named wide receiver Cyrus Traught the recipient of the 2026 Tommy Nikolich Award.
The award, which is always given out at the end of spring ball, recognizes a walk-on team member who has distinguished himself through his attitude and work ethic. The award is presented in memory of Tommy Nickolich, a former WVU player (1980-82) who passed away from cancer in 1983.
Traugh is a Parkersburg native and graduate of Parkersburg South High School. He began his career at Youngstown State before transferring back home to play for the Mountaineers last season. In his final year with the Penguins, he logged 36 receptions, 409 yards, and a team-leading five touchdowns, two of which came against Pitt.
During the 2025 campaign with the Mountaineers, he saw action against Robert Morris and Kansas, playing 10 snaps against the Jayhawks, but did not record any stats.
Head coach Rich Rodriguez has mentioned him twice this spring as someone who has been doing some good things and making progress. Wide receivers coach Ryan Garrett also showed him some love during his press conference last week.
The Mountaineers completely revamped the wide receiver room this offseason, upping the level of talent at both inside and outside receiver spots, but perhaps Traugh can work his way into the mix if he puts together a strong summer and fall camp. If he’s not a regular in the rotation, he’ll serve as a quality depth piece who can play special teams.
Past Nickolich Award winners:
2025: Clay Ash, RB
2024: Avery Wilcox, S
2023: C.J. Cole, WR
2022: Nick Malone, OL
2021: Graeson Malashevich, WR/H
2020: Osman Kamara, S
2019: Jake Abbott, LB
2018: Evan Staley, K
2017: Nick Meadows, LS
2016: Jon Lewis, DL
2015: Justin Arndt, LB
2014: Michael Calicchio, OL
2013: Connor Arlia, WR
2012: Tyler Anderson, DE
2011: Ryan Nehlen, WR
2010: Matt Lindamood, FB
2009: Josh Taylor, DL
2008: Adam Hughes, LS
2007: Andy Emery, LB
2006: Tim Lindsey, LS
2005: George Shehl, H/DB
2004: Jeff Noechel, LB
2003: John Pennington, WR
2002: Moe Fofana, RB
2001: Jeremy Knapp, TE
2000: Ben Collins, LB
1999: Bryan Lorenz, LB
1998: Mark Corman, TE
1997: David Lightcap, DB
1996: Matt Ceresa, OL
1995: Rob Keys, DB
1994: Randy Fulmore, DB
1993: Matt McCulty, WR
1992: Brett Parise, WR, Ray Wilcox, LB
1991: Keith Taparausky, RB
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