Seven women’s basketball players ejected in wild melee as depleted…
Losing more than half your team to an ejection is usually a profitable strategy apparently.
West Virginia topped No. 15 Duke on Friday night time after a mini-brawl at the end of the first half resulted in seven ejections, including six Mountaineers and 4 of the team’s starters.
Those ousters left West Virginia with just 5 players for the second half, yet it rallied for a 57-49 win.
“I think that’s the craziest game I’ve ever been a part of in my coaching career, without question,” West Virginia coach Mark Kellogg said after his team improved to 4-0.
The skirmish broke out after the first half ended when Duke’s Jordan Wood blocked a 3-point try by Jordan Harrison to protect the Blue Devils’ 23-20 lead in their matchup in The Greenbrier Tip-Off.
The start of the brawl. @ESPN/YouTube
Wood chirped at Harrison while flaunting her muscular tissues, which resulted in Harrison shoving the Duke junior.
A Blue Devils teammate got here over and the pair each shoved Harrison, resulting in a skirmish involving more than a handful of players.
Some shoving during the skirmish. @ESPN/YouTube
Two referees shortly bought between the groups, stopping additional issue.
While the fracas only lasted a number of seconds, 5 West Virginia players, including 4 starters — Gia Cooke, Jordan Thomas, Madison Parrish, Kierra Wheeler and Carter McCray — made the mistake of leaving the bench and that earned them an ejection for doing little or no, per ESPN.
Harrison and Wood each also bought the boot from the referees.
“I think we’re better than that and I think we’re going to learn a valuable lesson from that experience and the way that went down,” Kellogg said of the incident.
“So, now we have to study from that one. … But dissatisfied in how we dealt with that.
Thigns bought chippy at the end of the first half. @ESPN/YouTube
Backup senior guard Célia Rivière galvanized the depleted Mountaineers, scoring 12 factors while playing a season-high 22 minutes.
West Viriginia used a 24-9 third-quarter run to drag away for good, and Duke fell to 2-2 with the setback.
Said Kellogg: “I couldn’t be more proud of the resiliency, the guts, the grit, all of the things that I think our team is.”
Stay up to date with the latest action and trending tales from the world of sports activities! C-lebrity.com brings you the freshest sports activities news, highlights, and skilled insights — all fastidiously curated to maintain you informed and engaged. From major league updates to inspiring athlete tales, we cowl all of it in one place.
Visit C-lebrity.com daily for complete coverage of the games, tournaments, and sporting moments that matter most — your final source for all the pieces sports activities and leisure.