By SHAWN RINE WEST LIBERTY — Goals? Jim Crutchfield doesn’t have many. He enters each game wanting to score not a specific number of points, but simply one more than the opposition that night. The way he sees it, that has worked out pretty well in the past. After all, ...
By SHAWN RINE WEST LIBERTY — Last year’s senior class was something special. The names Kailee Howe, Liz Flowers and Kiki Simpson will go down as some of the best to ever lace up sneakers for Coach Lynn Ullom, and Jasmin Kiley was a valuable contributor off the ...
By SHAWN RINE WHEELING — Danny Sancomb took Wheeling Jesuit to the top of the Mountain East Conference last season. The key now is staying there. ‘‘I always think it’s harder staying at the top,’’ Sancomb said. The Cardinals certainly have the horses to do so. ...
WHEELING — The Wheeling Jesuit women are ready to defend their Mountain East Conference Tournament Championship. The Cardinals return 11 players, including four of their top-5 scorers, from a team that finished 27-6, including the program’s first NCAA Tournament victory against West Chester ...
GREENVILLE, Pa. — The Bethany College women’s basketball team was picked to finish seventh in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches’ Poll. After finishing 8-18 overall (6-12 PAC) last season, the Bison received 37 points in the poll voted on by the league’s ...
GREENVILLE, Pa. — The Bethany College men’s basketball team was picked to finish third in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches’ Poll. Thomas More, last season’s PAC runner-up, was tabbed as the preseason favorite after receiving six first-place votes. Four-time ...
By JIM BUTTA MORGANTOWN — In his own unique manner long-time West Virginia University head men’s basketball coach Bob Huggins thanked his fellow Big 12 coaches for picking his Mountaineers to finish second to defending league champion Kansas at the recently held Big 12 Media ...
By JIM BUTTA MORGANTOWN — Ever since arriving in Morgantown prior to the start of the 2001-02 campaign, Clarksburg native Mike Carey has known nothing but success at West Virginia. And, despite the loss of Bria Holmes, the team’s top point producer a year ago, to the WNBA, Carey ...
By JOSH STROPE WHEELING — The Linsly girls won’t have a lot in terms of numbers this year, with nine kids on the roster. That puts a lot of extra emphasis on the starting five to stay healthy and out of foul trouble. Throw in a new coach with a new system and things could easily go ...
By RICK THORP BELLAIRE — John Farrier can’t wait to get the season started. And who can blame him? With six letterwinners back, including his top five scorers and five players who started at some point last winter, Farrier is chomping at the bit to get at it. The Big ...
By SETH STASKEY BELLAIRE — Saying Bellaire basketball coach J.R. Battista is excited about this season would be a total understatement. And why wouldn’t he be? After all, the Big Reds have increased their win total each of the last three seasons and return four starters ...
By JOSH STROPE WHEELING — It’s not too often a school the size of Wheeling Park has inexperience on its basketball team, but that is the situation Coach Michael Jebbia and his coaching staff finds themselves in as training camp hits. Wheeling Park returns two starters from last ...
By JOSH STROPE WHEELING — The script has flipped for the Wheeling Park girls. In one year, the Patriots went from being young to experienced. “Experience was one of the things we lacked the past few years but that has all changed,” Wheeling Park coach Ryan Young said. “We ...
By KYLE LUTZ WHEELING — Every successful program goes through a rough stretch at one time or another. That time may have been the 2015-16 season for the Wheeling Central girls’ team. Penn Kurtz’s young team had to overcome some adversity throughout the season as the injury bug ...
By KYLE LUTZ WHEELING — Wheeling Central coach Mel Stephens knows that a player like Chase Harler comes around once in a blue moon. The former Maroon Knight sstandout has moved on to Morgantown at West Virginia University. However, that does not mean the cupboard is bare. The ...
By TRACY WATSON KIDWELL — As usual the Tyler Consolidated girls’ basketball team is getting a late start to practice due to what Coach Cathy Boggs calls “a wonderful problem to deal with.” That so-called problem is the fact the Silver Knights are yearly participants at the ...
By TRACY WATSON KIDWELL — With three starters returning, one of which missed most of last season with a knee injury, plenty of experience and some new, unexpected faces on the roster, Tyler Consolidated Head Coach Rob Jones is optimistic his team can turn thing around this ...
By TRACY WATSON NEW MARTINSVILLE — As the long-time girls’ basketball coach at River High, and entering his third season at Magnolia, Tom Tisher knows what it takes to win and feels that his Blue Eagles may have a little bit of that magic. Coming off a 16-7 record, and a trip to ...
By TRACY WATSON NEW MARTINSVILLE — Veteran Magnolia boys’ basketball Coach Dave Tallman is asking one question heading into the 2016-17 season. “Are we going to rebuild, or reload?” That is a legitimate question for a team that is just two years removed from a West Virginia ...
By MIKE MATHISON WELLSBURG — The Brooke Bruins look to get a fresh start in more ways than one. After losing many multi-year lettermen to graduation, the Bruins will turn to youth and energy to carry them into the season. With the overhaul on the gymnasium and new coaching ...