MORGANTOWN W.Va - The #16 ranked West Virginia Mountaineers are preparing for their second non-conference matchup of the season against the Niagara Purple Eagles at the West Virginia Coliseum on Saturday Nov. 9, 2024.
Head Coach Mark Kellogg’s Mountaineers knocked the offseason rust off on Tuesday against the visiting Towson Tigers, getting a 85-41 win to start the season with a 1-0 record.
The Mountaineers had a slow start, Coach Kellogg commented saying “the first quarter was not particularly great.” The Mountaineers only scored 14 points in the opening period while the Tigers were only one point behind. However after the first the Mountaineer offense found their groove scoring an average of 23.6 points from the second quarter onwards.
Junior Jordan Harrison led the way in scoring with 23 points, while the Auburn transfer Junior Sydney Shaw and Senior JJ Quinerly helped add on to the lead with a combined 33 amongst the two of them. However the three players had the majority of the teams fouls with a combined nine of the teams 12 fouls during the contest.
Coach Kellogg remarked that his team had an, “okay performance that got a little bit better and we’ll find ways to continue to improve.”
Looking at the visiting Niagara Purple Eagles, they are led by Head Coach Jada Pierce who enters her tenth season with the Purple Eagles. Her team currently sits at 6th in the MAAC with a 0-1 record after a 108-84 loss to Syracuse on Tuesday at the JMA Wireless Dome in Syracuse, N.Y.
Sophomore Safiatu Kolliegbo currently leads the team in scoring at 16 points on the year, while Junior Marlie Dickerson is only one point behind in the standings for the Purple Eagles.
Coach Kellogg looks to further improve his teams consistency as they take on Coach Pierce and her Purple Eagles who are hungry for an early season upset.
Join Quinn Robie on play-by-play and Joey Bray on color for U-92’s coverage of Saturday's game, tip off is scheduled for 2:00 P.M. Be sure to tune in early at 1:30 P.M. for the pregame show hosted by Nico Caretto, he will be joined by Cody Burton, Braden Laslo, and Logan Powell. The broadcast can be heard locally on 91.7 FM, u92themoose.com, an Alexa At-Home Device, or the RadioFX and TuneIn apps.
Photo Credit: Tyler Prusina, Daily Atheneum