three-pieces-of-the-puzzle-main.png
Three Pieces of the Puzzle
March 03, 2016 06:37 PM | Women's Basketball
Walking off the basketball court for the last time at the WVU Coliseum will be one of the hardest things seniors Bria Holmes, Jessica Morton and Arielle Roberson will ever have to do. Even though the trio did not start their collegiate careers together, they couldn’t imagine finishing it with anyone else. Hailing from different walks of life, the trio ended up at West Virginia University for one thing and one thing only, to play for coach Mike Carey.
Holmes has donned the Old Gold and Blue all four years, while Morton and Roberson transferred to WVU during the 2014-15 and 2015-16 season, respectively. With a young team and the departure of three seniors from a year ago, the talented trio knew they would have to elevate their level of play to keep the Mountaineers competitive and in the NCAA tournament hunt in their final year on the court.
This season, the Mountaineers exceeded expectations after being picked to finish sixth in the Big 12. The team finished 23-8 overall in the regular season and went 12-6 in Big 12 action to place third in the league. And most likely, this team will make a NCAA Tournament appearance in mid-March. Much of that success can be attributed to the consistency and work ethic of three selfless seniors who have accepted whatever role coach Carey has thrust upon them over the course of the year to fit the team’s needs.
“I wish I could say more about this senior class, but we are definitely very competitive,” Roberson explained. “Bria (Holmes) and Jess (Morton) are very strong athletes. I think as a senior core, we offer a lot. We all bring a piece to the puzzle. We all bring a piece to this team that is valuable.
“Jess is a point guard, and you always need a point guard. Bria has been here the longest, and she can score. She knows how the system works. I wanted to come in and see where I could fit in because I knew I had a lot to bring to the table. A rebounder, a ball handler and a scorer are the pieces to this game, and I think we all mesh very well together.”
Roberson is a forward from San Antonio, Texas, where she was a Texas Association of Basketball Coaches (TABC) and Texas Girls Coaches Association (TGCA) all-state pick as a senior. Following her career at Wagner High, Roberson committed to playing basketball at Colorado, but sat out the 2011-12 season after developing a torn labrum in her left hip during preseason workouts.
Roberson made her debut with the Buffaloes the following year, and was named the 2013 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year. Her Freshman of the Year honor was the first of its kind for the Buffaloes in any conference. She also was named to the Freshman All-American Third Team by FullCourtPress.com and dominated the Pac-12’s Freshman of the Week honor with five honors during the 2012-13 season.
Roberson led Colorado in scoring (12.0 ppg) and rebounding (8.3 rpg) the following season, while ranking second in blocked shots (1.0 bpg) and third in field-goal percentage (.458). She earned honorable mention to the coaches’ All-Pac 12 Conference and Pac-12 All-Defensive teams. Roberson’s rebounding efforts were strong the entire year, especially on the offensive end, the 109 offensive rebounds were the fourth-most by a Buff since the 1987-88 season (when the stat was first charted on a regular basis).
A year later, Roberson missed the 2014-15 season after tearing the ACL in her left knee during preseason individual workouts. Forced to face adversity, Roberson decided to transfer to West Virginia to cap her senior year. She returned to the starting lineup, when she made her WVU debut against Delaware State on Nov. 14.
“Coming off an ACL injury and then coming into a new program brought a whole new level of toughness,” Roberson noted. “I had to battle the mental and physical aspect of getting my knee ready and trusting it again. I also had to learn a new system, and I also had to learn how coach Carey worked. He is quite different from a lot of coaches, but he definitely pulls the best out of you. In hindsight, it was a blessing in disguise because it made me a better person in the long run. I am just happy to be here and be a part of Mountaineer Nation.”
Roberson ranked second in conference games with 9.6 rebounds and 2.3 steals per contest in her lone season at West Virginia. Her 3.7 offensive rebounds per game led the Big 12. Roberson was named All-Big 12 Honorable Mention by the league on Wednesday.
Morton is from Augusta, Georgia, where she lettered in basketball every year at Glenn Hills High. She was named to the 2009 4A All-State Honorable Mention and made her collegiate debut at Gulf Coast State College. All-Star Girl’s Report ranked Morton as the 12th best junior college player nationally, while Dan Olson’s Collegiate Girls Basketball Report listed her as the 10th-best JUCO player nationally.
In her rookie season, she earned 26 starts in 31 games to help Gulf Coast to a 28-6 overall record and a share of the Panhandle Conference Regular-Season title. Morton closed her sophomore season as a two-time All-Panhandle First Team Conference selection and was named to the FCSAA/NJCAA Region VII All-State Team each season with Gulf Coast.
Morton’s road to WVU was a long and bumpy one, but despite a few hiccups and sitting out a half semester due to NCAA rules, she was able to make a noticeable impact for the Mountaineers. She made her WVU debut against Texas Tech on Jan. 14, 201,5 and finished her first campaign as a Mountaineer with 129 points, 48 field goals, 45 rebounds, 21 three-pointers and 11 steals in 23 games and 345 minutes played.
Since then, Morton’s career-high 26 points lifted the Mountaineers to victory in a road contest at TCU earlier this season. She elevated her game in Big 12 action, averaging 7.8 points per game in her final campaign.
“It’s been a rough four years of my life,” Morton stated. “I just wanted to make something out of myself. I wanted to keep moving forward. I chose to go on the right path of my life and continue playing basketball. I like to work hard, and I want to experience a lot of opportunities.
“West Virginia means a lot to me because I never knew that I would make it this far. I am playing Division I basketball, as well as getting the help that I need to earn my degree. I am very grateful that I made it here, and it is shocking that I am going to graduate too. I am going to miss the atmosphere here. I am going to miss the fans, my teammates and the coaching staff. I am going to miss it all. It’s been a great two years.”
Another key player for the Mountaineers is guard Holmes. Holmes hails from New Haven, Connecticut, where she led James Hillhouse High to a 72-9 record and three straight state championships. ESPN HoopGurlz ranked her at No. 28, and the JumpOffPlus report also called her the 16th-best player in the country and second-best small forward. Holmes made an early impact with the Mountaineers, as she played in all 31 games as a freshman and was named to the Big 12 All-Freshmen Team. She was the leading scorer off the bench with 5.8 points per game and the ninth-highest scoring average of all Big 12 freshmen.
In 2013-14, Holmes was an Associated Press All-American Honorable Mention selection, a unanimous All-Big 12 First Team selection and was a Big 12 All-Tournament Team honoree. She led the Mountaineers with 15.2 points per game, and became the 14th player in Mountaineer history to have 500 points in a single season with 516, and only the sixth sophomore to achieve that feat.
Her breakout season was her junior year, as she scored 716 points, grabbed 169 rebounds, dished out 105 assists, snatched 58 steals, blocked 35 shots in 1,389 minutes and 38 games played. She posted double-figures in 37-of-38 games, setting a program single-season record. Her 716 points rank second most in a single-season at WVU, as she became the first junior to reach the 700-point plateau. Holmes was rated No. 16 best player in the NCAA by ESPN, and she was one of 25 selected to the Wade Watch List as well as named to the Naismith Top 50 Watch List.
In her final season in Mountaineer uniform, Holmes imprinted her name forever in the WVU record books. She ranks in WVU’s top-10 in 13 different statistical categories. The New Haven, Connecticut, native ranks third in all-time scoring at WVU with 1,936 points and is the Big 12’s active career scoring leader. In February, Holmes became the first Mountaineer to score 500 or more points in three consecutive seasons. She is the first WVU player since Rosemary Kosiorek to garner three consecutive all-conference first team honors with her unanimous selection to the 2016 All-Big 12 First Team.
“Being a Mountaineer means a lot to me,” Holmes noted. “It has helped me mentally and physically. It has been a great experience thus far with being around my coaches and teammates. Everyone has been very helpful. We have a great academic staff, and they are there to help us with whatever we need, especially when we are on the road. It is a great environment to be a part of, and I couldn’t be more proud that I picked this school.”
Being a part of Mountaineer Nation is very special to Holmes, Morton and Roberson, especially with the family-like atmosphere of this year’s team. The three seniors are grateful for their teammates as well as many others in their lives for they have played a huge influence on the person they are today and their ambitions.
“This is a special team,” Morton noted. “I was never on a team that was so helpful. We love one another. We help one another. We are team. Teams should stick beside each other. It’s a blessing that I met these group of girls. I am going to miss them.”
“I see a lot of togetherness,” Holmes said. “We didn’t have that at all last year. Even though we are a young team, I feel as if everyone is coming together as one. We have learned a lot since the start of the summer. We keep growing as the year progresses, and hopefully, we go all the way.”
NCAA Second Round Press Conference | Kellogg, Harrison, Shaw
Monday, March 23
NCAA First Round Recap
Sunday, March 22
Mark Kellogg, Meme Wheeler & Jordan Harrison | NCAA First Round vs. Miami (OH)
Saturday, March 21
NCAA Tournament Trailer
Friday, March 20
