After hoisting the Big 12 Tournament trophy in Oklahoma City on Monday evening, the West Virginia University women’s basketball had sent a message loud and clear – this team was focused and could beat anyone, on any given day.

 

The Mountaineers achieved a feat that only one other Big 12 team had been able to do since the league began in 1997. As a No. 6-seed, the Mountaineers joined the 2004 Oklahoma squad, as the only other sixth-seeded team to win the league crown.

 

WVU knocked off a Baylor team that had previously won 20 consecutive conference tournament games – the longest active winning streak among men’s or women’s basketball at the time.

 

But even more impressive was the road to get the title game, WVU entered the tournament a combined 1-5 against Oklahoma, Texas and Baylor. Yet, the Mountaineers handled No. 19 Oklahoma (82-58), No. 12/14 Texas (62-59) and then capped off the magical journey with a 77-66 victory the No. 2-ranked Lady Bears.

 

It’s a true testament to the team’s character that suffered from preseason injuries and lulls during the conference season. Therefore, expectations, at least from the outside, were relatively low entering the Phillips Big 12 Championship last weekend. But true to the team’s “Family” slogan, the Mountaineers always believed in themselves and had developed a great working relationship together all the way back in early July.

 

It was June when senior center Lanay Montgomery turned on the news and saw that a flood was ravaging the southern part of the state.

 

She saw that 23 people had unfortunately lost their lives and many others had lost their homes and possessions. It was then that Montgomery decided she would be proactive and get involved to help those who have supported her throughout the years.

 

“When the flooding happened, I saw on the news how bad it was. Over the course of the week, I saw the death toll go up and the devastation the victims faced,” explained Montgomery.  “I told my teammates to buy three things that those affected by the floods really needed and we were going to figure out how to get the supplies to them. All of the girls were very willing to assist and bought more than the three items I had recommended.”

 

But that wasn’t enough. Montgomery and her teammates wanted to give back. They wanted to volunteer and assist in the cleanup efforts.

 

“Coach (Mike) Carey said that when we go down there, it wasn’t going to be about giving out hugs and water and we were really going to do something” Montgomery said.

 

When the team first arrived on hot muggy day in Rainelle, West Virginia, the devastation seen on the news became reality.

 

“We went down there and it was awful. It was eye-opening,” Montgomery noted. “We had read some articles and seen some news clips, but it’s different when you see the damage and all of the pain it causes people. Some people…they lost everything. When we drove through the town it was almost like a ghost town almost. You could feel the sadness in the air. You had this feeling come on to you about how they were feeling. It was really terrible.”

 

Then the Mountaineers went full speed into the cleanup efforts. First, half of the team assisted with cleaning out a shed and taking out a few items from an elderly woman’s home. Then they all headed down the street to Jack and Janice Redden’s home.

 

It was there with “Mr. Jack”, as the Mountaineers would eventually call him, sat outside stoically looking on as the Mountaineers began to take out walls, flooring and items in the bathroom and kitchens.

 

At first, it was a little chaotic, but the team, staff members and friendly neighbors eventually coordinated and broke down and removed all of the items needed to be finished in a span of six hours.

 

It was a lot of hard laborious work that is not like lifting the team was used it. It was old fashioned hard work – teamwork.

 

“We didn’t put them in groups,” coach Mike Carey explained. “They did that themselves. Two or three went to a room was taking the floor out. One was hammering, one was getting the nails and another was holding the crow bar. They did a great job and worked extremely hard. I felt at that time this team was had bonded pretty well.”

 

That July day in Rainelle gave the Mountaineers something no one could ever take away from them. It humbled the team, gave them an appreciation for things given to them and gave them a motivation. An inspiration to not only play for Mr. Jack, but to play for all of those in the Mountain State and Mountaineers across the nation and globe.

 

“I thought our players realized some people are in worse shape than they are and things happen that you can’t control,” Carey said. “I was really pleased that our players went down there and understood that and understood the situation and worked extremely hard. They didn’t think about themselves, they thought about the families down there. It just shows how unselfish that our players hard.”

 

“We’re kind of like a pro team for West Virginia and that’s where we come into play,” Montgomery said. “That’s what players should do. People look up to us. You are not just doing it for the greater good of yourself, but the greater good for the people who support you.”

 

Eventually, a few months would pass and West Virginia would continue that support. The Mountaineers played an exhibition game in Clarksburg. More than 2,100 fans packed Robert C. Byrd to not only cheer on the Old Gold and Blue, but to help collect funds for those in the southern part of the state. Just another reason for the Mountaineers to help those who needed it the most.

 

Flash forward to the regular season. Before the season even began WVU lost three players to season-ending knee injuries (Aisha Edwards, Krystaline McCune and Nia Staples).

 

The Mountaineers finished the nonconference slate a perfect 12-0 record and opened Big 12 play with a dominating 83-61 win over TCU.  The Mountaineers were ranked No. 12 in the country. However, West Virginia would drop eight of its next 11 games falling to 4-8 in league play.

 

The Mountaineers did pick up Top 25 wins over No. 19 Oklahoma and No. 24 Kansas State, but two losses to Iowa State couple with setback defeats at Texas Tech and Oklahoma State clearly had this team on the bubble.

 

Talent from last year’s team was there, despite losses of WNBA rookie Bria Holmes and veterans Jessica Morton and Arielle Roberson. WVU had key players returning in Montgomery, Alexis Brewer, Tynice Martin, Teana Muldrow, Katrina Pardee and Chania Ray just to name a few.

 

“I just think it took us a while for everyone to accept their role,” Carey explained. “When we had Bria Holmes, she was our go-to person. Not everybody wants to be the defensive person, the picker or the passer. They all want to be the scorer. I think at times we weren’t mentally tough. When we got tired, we just went through the motions. I was most frustrated about the effort and the lack of focus when the game was on the line.”

 

“We had terrible games in the regular season,” said sophomore guard Tynice Martin. “We proved we could beat teams that were ranked. We need to believe in ourselves. But when you lose that many back-to-back games in the regular season, it lowers your confidence. We had to let it go and move forward.”

 

 

 

West Virginia knew that it would need to win at least one, if not two, games to at least ensure itself a spot in the NCAA Tournament for the 12th time in school history and the 10th time under Carey.

 

By the time the sixth-seeded Mountaineers had reached their quarterfinal matchup with No. 3 Oklahoma on Saturday, the path was clear. One win and you’re probably in. Two victories and you’re certainly in.

 

Destined and determined, the Mountaineers opened the contest with a 12-0 run and never let the Sooners trim the game to single digits after the first quarter.

 

Martin finished with 21 points, while her teammate Teana Muldrow poured in 19 points and eight rebounds.

It was a clear, decisive victory that would send the NCAA selection committee a notice that West Virginia did indeed belong in the “Big Dance.”

 

“I knew we were going to be ready to play,” said Carey. “Our shootaround earlier today was probably the best shootaround we had all year. They were focused, a lot of energy. In fact I had to cut it down because they were going too hard, so we just cut things down.”

 

No. 2-seed Texas proved to be up to the challenge. The Longhorns entered the tournament losing three of its last four and wanted to prove they were ready for the NCAA Tournament slate ahead.

 

Sunday’s contest saw three ties and nine lead changes. A three-pointer by UT’s Ariel Atkins with 5:23 gave Texas the 51-50 lead. Martin followed with jumper and was fouled to connect the and-one which would eventually give WVU the game-winning bucket and its second consecutive upset of the tourney.

 

“We proved we could do it,” said Martin. “Nobody thought that we would be here, but we’re here.”

 

West Virginia entered Monday’s championship game as heavy underdogs. Baylor had been dominant all season entering the contest with a 30-2 record with its only blemishes to top-ranked Connecticut and Texas. It seemed as though the Mountaineers improbable run would probably be halted by the Lady Bears.

 

But again, like earlier games in the tourney, the Mountaineers jumped out early and led by nine, 39-30, at halftime. WVU outscored Baylor, 26-14, in the third quarter and ballooned its lead to 21 points. However, BU never quit and soon trimmed the game to as low as six points in the final minute. But as she had done all weekend, Martin made three free throws followed by Brewer’s final two free throw makes to seal the win.

 

The victory gave West Virginia its conference title since 1989 and its first since joining the Big 12.

 

“Needless, to say this past weekend was what I was most impressed with,” Carey said. “The focus and effort when they were tired. It went full circle. I was so proud of our team because the focus and the effort.”

 

“Playing basketball I learned that offense is great, but defense wins championships and we bought into defense and we knew it was going to be the key,” Muldrow, a Big 12 All-Tournament Team selection, said. “Scoring is not the problem for us. It is just sticking with defense and having each other's backs. I think we did that well this tournament.”

 

Carey summed it up best as the team celebrated jubilantly on the floor of the Chesapeake Energy Arena.

 

“We don't get a lot of fans here, but you know what? The fans we did have here we really appreciate it and I can hear 'em, and when the game was over they were singing "Country Roads" and that's all that mattered, that we heard that song we end,” he said.

 

“This was a great experience to share with the state of West Virginia and to the people we met in July," said Martin. "(The Redden family) was a part of us and our journey. He (Mr. Jack) is a part of our family now and the other folks that we helped or met when we were in Rainelle.”

 

Montgomery, the senior captain from Pittsburgh, summed it up best – the attitude all Mountaineers have. The belief in each other when everyone else doubts you.

 

“Our backs were against the wall and we had to give it our all. I think we came out and played strong, tough and physical for three games.”