WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.V. — Mark Kellogg had two phrases written on his dry-erase board: Imagine and breathe.
There wasn’t a lot else the Mountaineers might do apart from that. Taking part in in opposition to No. 15 Duke at Colonial Corridor on the Greenbier with simply 5 gamers for the entire second half, West Virginia needed to keep calm and hold its composure. And, as inconceivable because it appeared, the Mountaineers needed to have religion that they may win.
Kellogg’s message was acquired by his gamers. And so was a brand-new gameplan.
“That’s the craziest recreation that I’ve ever been part of in my teaching profession, with out query,” Kellogg stated. “I couldn’t be extra pleased with the resiliency, the center, the grit, the entire issues that I feel our staff is. We discuss at West Virginia on a regular basis about simply what this state represents, and we would like our groups to type of mirror that.”
The Mountaineers tailored and persevered. With only one starter within the lineup and end-of-the-bench contributors enjoying key roles, West Virginia stayed out of foul hassle within the second half, knocked down free throws and — someway, someway, in one thing straight out of a Disney film — pulled off a 57-49 upset victory over the visiting Blue Devils in entrance of a sold-out crowd of 1,210 followers in a ballroom at a resort in southern West Virginia.
In official information, this contest — the Skechers Greenbrier Tip-Off — will go down as a impartial website recreation. However followers sporting blue-and-gold stuffed the non permanent bleachers and created an electrical environment. To make it really feel much more like a house recreation for the Mountaineers, John Denver’s well-known “Take Me House, Nation Roads” performed over the loudspeakers after the win. Kellogg wasn’t anticipating to listen to the West Virginia anthem since his staff was enjoying three hours south of Morgantown, however grabbed the 5 gamers and stated, “Y’all recover from right here. Let’s benefit from the heck out of out of this one.”
For Kellogg, now in his third 12 months main West Virginia, nothing has been sweeter than singing that track with these particular gamers after this marquee victory. It was the Mountaineers’ first common season win over an AP-ranked opponent away from Morgantown since Dec. 8, 2019, once they received at No. 10 Mississippi State.
The way it all occurred was tough to elucidate for Kellogg.
“These 5, they gutted that factor out. I’ve by no means seen something prefer it,” Kellogg stated. “You see these moments on TV the place all people’s like misplaced for phrases… I feel that is a type of moments for me.”
Duke coach Kara Lawson didn’t want to look her ideas for too lengthy to place collectively her evaluation on how the sport discovered its ultimate end result.
“I assumed West Virginia was terrific within the second half. They simply performed with nice aggressive spirit. They earned the win… I can deal with when a end result doesn’t go in your favor whenever you put it on the market and also you lay it on the market. Sadly, tonight, we didn’t lay it on the market, and so they did,” Lawson stated. “That’s why they received. They received as a result of they earned it and so they deserved to win.”
Lawson’s Blue Devils led 23-20 at halftime, enjoying a particularly Duke recreation within the first half the place they emphasised a defensive-first mindset and have been trying to grind out a victory. After which, the sport acquired turned on its head.
Because the halftime buzzer was sounding, a scuffle ensued after Duke’s Jordan Wooden screamed “let’s go” within the face of West Virginia’s Jordan Harrison. The Mountaineer responded with a shove, after which extra shoves adopted and 5 gamers left West Virginia’s bench.
Following a prolonged deliberation between the referees at halftime, Wooden and Harrison have been each ejected for preventing and 5 extra West Virginia gamers have been ejected for leaving the bench. Duke’s Ashlon Jackson and Arianna Roberson have been additionally given Flagrant 1 fouls for contact, which put West Virginia within the bonus and gave the Mountaineers two free throws to begin the third quarter.
However when offered with what was now dealing with West Virginia, it was exhausting to check a situation through which it might win the sport. Sydney Shaw was the one starter who wasn’t booted from the competition and he or she hadn’t scored a single level within the first half. In actual fact, the entire gamers who scored within the first half for the Mountaineers have been watching the sport from the locker room within the second half.
“When you don’t have anything to lose, you may as properly simply put all of it on the market,” Shaw stated. “When you have got 5 gamers and no bench, and the opposite staff has their whole bench, you’re not precisely the primary option to win. So, we have been positively simply enjoying unfastened.”
Along with Shaw, the gamers Kellogg was left to depend on included Butler switch Riley Makalusky, Texas Tech switch Loghan Johnson, fifth-year guard Sydney Woodley, and Célia Rivière — a senior junior faculty switch who had by no means performed greater than 20 minutes in opposition to a Energy 4 opponent in two seasons at West Virginia.
Kellogg shortly mulled over the gameplan and narrowed his already restricted choices. On offense, he determined he would lastly put the ball in Shaw’s fingers after she had been badgering him for reps at level guard. On protection, the Mountaineers would sit in a 2-3 zone. They needed to be cautious with fouling, and so they needed to create their very own alternatives to get to the free throw line.
It labored. West Virginia outscored an out-of-sorts Duke staff 24-9 within the third quarter to take a commanding double-digit lead. Towards the zone, the Blue Devils appeared misplaced and bewildered, like they have been greased and blindfolded whereas attempting to navigate an ice rink.
“We began the third quarter flat, and I assumed (West Virginia) acquired a variety of confidence as soon as they began scoring that, you recognize, like, ‘Hey, we are able to, we are able to do that.’ And we didn’t reply properly. We didn’t have anyone play properly, to be fairly frank,” Lawson stated, earlier than shortly including that she thought Arianna Roberson and Taina Mair performed “with the suitable stage of effort.”
Lawson continued: “However nobody else on the roster (performed properly), and in order that’s an indictment on me. I’ve acquired to be higher. Clearly, I didn’t have them prepared after every thing that occurred earlier than halftime to return out.”
West Virginia shot 14-of-18 from the free throw line within the second half and outrebounded the prolonged Blue Devils — armed with a number of McDonald’s All-People within the frontcourt — by two. Duke turned the ball over 11 occasions within the ultimate two intervals, which the Mountaineers flipped into 9 factors. The Blue Devils have been additionally simply 8-of-22 on layups for the complete recreation.
Shaw powered the Mountaineers with 16 factors, seven rebounds and three assists, whereas Rivière tied her single-game career-highs for each scoring and rebounding with 12 factors and eight boards to associate with three assists and a steal.
“I’m practising on daily basis actually exhausting, and I’m at all times prepared for my teammates and this program,” Rivière stated. “I simply do what I do, and play sensible.”
Duke charged again to chop the result in 4 factors with 36 seconds to play, however Shaw knocked down her subsequent 4 free throws makes an attempt whereas Duke misfired on its subsequent two jumpers. Down eight factors with 11 seconds to play after Emilee Skinner’s off-the-mark shot, the Blue Devils stopped fouling and allowed the Mountaineers to dribble out the clock. Rivière turned to a piece of West Virginia supporters, flexed, screamed and soaked within the signature victory.
“I used to be actually joyful to win that recreation,” Rivière stated afterwards in a brief and candy means.
Whereas he was upset that six of his gamers have been tossed from the sport, Kellogg stated he hopes this win is usually a “type of a rallying level for this group.” West Virginia is now 4-0 on the season.
Another time: West Virginia, with simply 5 eligible gamers within the second-half, beat a Duke Blue Devils staff ranked within the Related Press High 25 Ballot, by a number of possessions.
Finally, if the Mountaineers’ victory could possibly be summed up in a single easy assertion, it will be this: West Virginia dealt with exhausting higher.
