WVU Sports Hall of Fame
A four-year letterwinner from 2001-04 and senior captain, Kate Bulger became the first Mountaineer drafted by the WNBA as the No. 38 pick of the Minnesota Lynx in the 2004 draft.
Bulger, a Pittsburgh native, was a four-time honoree in the Big East, named to the All-Big East Second Team her senior season, the third team her junior season, the second team as a sophomore and the Big East All-Rookie Team as a freshman.
Starting every game of her career and never missing a game, Bulger led the Mountaineers in scoring in each of her four seasons, finishing with 1,732 points, which rank as the sixth-highest career point total in WVU women's basketball history. She averaged 15.1 points per game, ranking seventh in WVU's career record books, while recording 648-of-1,577 attempts from the field.
Known as one of WVU's top all-time shooters, Bulger continues to hold WVU's record for 3-point field goals made (302) and 3-point field goal attempts (724) and ranks second for 3-point field goal percentage (.417). In addition to her offense, Bulger also ranks No. 10 in WVU's record books with 94 career blocked shots. With 115 career games played and started, Bulger ranks No. 3 in WVU's career record books with 4,008 minutes played.
As a senior in 2004, Bulger ranked 12th nationally for 3-point field goals made per game (2.9) and 24th in the nation for 3-point field goal percentage, making 39.3 percent (92-234). She led WVU in scoring 14 times, including nine 20-point outings. Bulger led WVU to its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1992.
In 2003, Bulger earned Preseason All-Big East Second Team honors and went on to lead the league and finish third nationally in 3-point field goal percentage (47%). Her 3-point field goal percentage remains a WVU record for a single season to this day.
Her shooting helped the Mountaineers to the fourth-best team 3-point field goal percentage (39.4%) in the country. She scored a career-high 36 points, including the game winner, in WVU's 77-74 overtime win over Syracuse. At the time, that performance set a WVU Coliseum record for points (36) and was second in field goals made (14) in a single game, and earned her Big East Player of the Week honors. Bulger closed the season named all-underrated All-America Honorable Mention by womenscollegehoops.com.
As a sophomore, Bulger became only the second player in program history to earn all-conference second team honors. She finished second in the conference for scoring average (15.4) and was a two-time Big East Player of the Week. Recording 22 double-digit scoring outings, Bulger led WVU in scoring on 14 occasions, including her first 30-point outing with 33 points in WVU's win over Robert Morris.
Bulger was a solid contributor for the Mountaineers from the start. In her rookie season, she led WVU, ranked 14th nationally and second in the Big East, with her 41.6 3-point field goal percentage. Her 14.4 points per game led the team and ranked seventh in the Big East. She also led WVU in field goal percentage (.423) and total points (391) that season. Starting all 27 games as a true freshman, Bulger was second on the team in minutes played (938), assists (63) and blocked shots (17).
Bulger joins her brother, Marc (2010 inductee), as the first siblings to be inducted into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame.
Bulger graduated from West Virginia with a bachelor's degree in communications. She received a master's degree in education from Duquesne and a second master's degree in educational leadership from Northern Arizona. Bulger currently lives in Chandler, Arizona, where she is in her fourth year as principal of a kindergarten through eighth grade school.
