WVU Women’s Basketball (14-3, 4-1) picked up a monumental road upset against No. 11 Iowa State (14-3, 2-3) on Sunday, 83-70. The matinee victory marked the Mountaineers’ third straight win over the Cyclones. Read more: Wheeler and Harrison spearhead road win against No. 11 Iowa State
Meme Wheeler ran roughshod inside Hilton Coliseum, terrorizing the ranked home squad by racking up 25 points, shooting 10-18 from the field. Nine Mountaineers found the bottom of the net in some form on their way to victory.
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The Mountaineers suffocated their opponent in the second half after a neck-and-neck first half.
First half
WVU and Iowa State kept pace with each other all game long. It was a closely contested first quarter, but the Cyclones drew first blood with a 5-0 lead to start the game.
Carter McCray got WVU on the board with a successful and-one to bring the game within three points in the early stages. Jordan Harrison tallied 10 points in the first quarter, including a buzzer-beater to put the Mountaineers up by one heading into the second quarter.
ISU’s marquee star entered the fray early as well, as Audi Crooks collected six points and four rebounds in the opening 10 minutes. WVU led 24-23 after one quarter.
The evenly matched affair continued into the second, as the teams scored 16 points each in the frame. Enter Wheeler.
Wheeler and Crooks dueled as second quarter standouts, with WVU getting the upper hand in the matchup. Crooks tallied seven more points, and Wheeler scored a dozen in the final 10 minutes before halftime.
McCray added the other four points to set the halftime score at 40-39 in favor of the Mountaineers.
Second half
The third quarter belonged to the Mountaineers. WVU found ways to limit Crooks in nearly every facet of the game in the quarter, as the Cyclone standout did not add to her box score.
The biggest difference in the third was ball distribution for WVU. Six Mountaineers scored, as WVU outscored ISU 19-11 in the third to take a sizable lead. Nine of ISU’s 11 points came from the charity stripe, as the Cyclones mustered one successful field goal in the penultimate period.
WVU entered the fourth with a 59-50 lead. The Mountaineers proceeded to shoot 9-15 from the field in the final quarter to silence the Cyclone faithful.
ISU put up 20 points in the fourth quarter, to no avail. WVU walked out of Hilton Coliseum with a convincing 83-70 victory.
What’s next?
WVU faces its third consecutive ranked opponent on Wednesday, when TCU enters Hope Coliseum. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. in Morgantown.
Wednesday’s game will be broadcast on ESPN+, as well as 100.9 FM The Torch and its nine affiliate stations. TCU poses a looming threat, winning all but one game thus far throughout the 2025-26 season.
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