Devil of a time for Duke: Down to five players in second half, Mountaineers score improbable 57-49 win over No. 15 Blue Devils
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. — West Virginia women’s basketball coach Mark Kellogg had more time than usual for halftime adjustments Friday night.
Problem was, Kellogg wasn’t sure what to adjust in his team’s matchup with 15th-ranked Duke in the Skechers Greenbrier Tip-Off.
Due to a review at the conclusion of the second quarter that led to the ejection of six Mountaineers and seven plays altogether, halftime spanned 30 minutes, and not until moments before the third quarter began did Kellogg become fully aware his team would have only five players available for the second half.
“We had like 2 minutes to come up with a game plan and how we were going to play with five,” Kellogg said.
Facing a three-point deficit to start the second half, the Mountaineers went in front 12 seconds into the third quarter and gained the lead for good not long after, utilizing a lineup of Sydney Shaw and four reserves to outscore the Blue Devils by 11 points after halftime to earn an improbable 57-49 victory.
“That’s the craziest game that I’ve ever been a part of in my coaching career without question,” Kellogg said.
“When you have nothing to lose, it’s free of mind,” said Shaw, who led all players with 16 points, all of which she scored after halftime. “Just playing loose.”
The incident in question came at the conclusion of the first half on a play that saw Duke’s Jordan Wood block a shot attempted by WVU guard Jordan Harrison as time was expiring. Wood and Harrison then got physical and pushed one another, leading to a flagrant 2 foul on both players and automatic ejections. Several other plays entered or neared the fracas, with WVU’s Gia Cooke, Kierra “MeMe” Wheeler, Jordan Thomas, Carter McCray and Maddie Parrish all ejected for coming off the bench and on the court during the dispute.
“We’re better than that. We’ll learn from that,” Kellogg said. “I’m disappointed in how we handled that.”
Half-ending sequence of Duke-WVU that led to the ejection of following players:
Duke – Jordan Wood (flagrant 2)
WVU – Jordan Harrison (flagrant 2) and five others for leaving bench: Cooke, Wheeler, Thomas, Parrish and McCray
WVU has 5 available players for the second half. pic.twitter.com/mPeNkqes0U
— Greg Carey (@gcarey938) November 15, 2025
The half-ending sequence also resulted in flagrant 1 fouls on Duke’s Arianna Roberson and Ashlon Jackson, allowing Shaw to shoot two free throws to start the third quarter.
After Shaw converted both foul shots to cut the Mountaineers’ deficit to 23-22, Celia Riviere scored inside, giving WVU (4-0) its first lead since 5-4.
A pair of free throws from Charles Town native Delaney Thomas left Duke (2-2) with a 27-26 lead that proved to be the Blue Devils’ last advantage.
The Mountaineers then rattled off 11 unanswered points to take control, feeding off a frenzied crowd in the process.
Riviere scored in the paint to start the game-changing spurt, while Shaw had field goals on successive possessions, the latter of which left Duke down five.
“I practice really hard every day and I’m always ready,” Riviere said. “I just do what I do and try to play smart and hard.”
After Riviere made two foul shots and Shaw split a pair, Riley Makalusky hit a jump shot to make it 37-27 — the first double-digit margin of the matchup.
“We started the third quarter flat and they got a lot of confidence when they started scoring,” Duke coach Kara Lawson said. “We didn’t respond well. We didn’t have anybody play well.”
Makalusky’s three-pointer — one of only five between the two teams — on WVU’s next possession made it 40-29 and allowed the Mountaineers to match their first-half scoring output (20) over the first 5:57 of the second half.
WVU led 44-32 through three quarters after shooting 7 for 15 from the field and making 9-of-12 free throws in the third. During that 10-minute stretch, Duke had 11 of its 23 turnovers.
“We moved positions and played a lot of zone,” Kellogg said. “We played Riley in the middle of it, which she’s never done.”
The Mountaineers showed no sign of fatigue early in the fourth despite being unable to substitute. Sydney Woodley scored at the 6:48 mark to leave Duke facing a 48-35 deficit, and after Shaw and Riviere accounted for consecutive buckets in the paint, the lead was the largest of the contest, 52-37.
“I couldn’t be more proud of the resiliency, guts and grit ,and all the things I think our team is,” Kellogg said. “We talk all the time about what this state represents and we want our team to mirror that.”
After Jackson accounted for Duke’s only two treys of the night 14 seconds apart, the Blue Devils were to within seven with 3:09 remaining. Thomas’ layup with 59 seconds left provided the next points, and Duke got as close as 53-49 with 37 seconds to play on a Taina Mair bucket.
Shaw sank 4-of-4 free throws in the final 35 seconds to put to rest any thought of the Blue Devils completing their comeback.
FINAL: West Virginia 57, No. 15 Duke 49
WVU (4-0) outscores Duke 37-26 after halftime with five available players.
Shaw (16), Rivière (12), Cooke (12 before ejection) led Mountaineers in scoring.
Maira scored 10 lead Duke (2-2). pic.twitter.com/y7Rpux2Wcl
— Greg Carey (@gcarey938) November 15, 2025
Riviere, who played much of the fourth quarter with four fouls, matched her career high point and rebound totals with 12 and eight, respectively. Cooke scored all but eight of the Mountaineers’ 20 first-half points to give WVU a third double-figure scorer.
Shaw, Woodley, Makalusky, Riviere and Loghan Johnson comprised West Virginia’s five for the final two quarters.
“In practice, we do a good job of mixing up the groups and I get a fair amount of time with people that don’t start as well, so there was no big difference,” Shaw said.
Shaw added seven rebounds and Makalusky accounted for five, helping WVU win the battle of the boards 36-33 for the game and 19-17 in the second half.
“We kept writing believe and breathe on the board,” Kellogg said.
Mair was Duke’s only double-figure scorer with 10 points.
Toby Fournier, the reigning Atlantic Coast Conference Freshman of the Year and Duke’s leading scorer this season, was limited to seven points on 3-for-7 shooting.
“West Virginia was terrific in the second half,” Lawson said. “They played with great competitive spirit and earned the win.”
