After a fight led to seven ejections, West Virginia upset Duke with only five players available in second half

The West Virginia Mountaineers pulled off a 57-49 upset over No. 15 Duke on Friday night with only five players available in the second half. The college basketball season has barely started, but Colonial Hall at The Greenbrier might have already witnessed one of the most compelling results of the year.

"That was the craziest game that I've ever been a part of in my coaching career, without question," West Virginia coach Mark Kellogg said postgame. "...I couldn't be more proud of the resiliency, the guts, the grit, all of the things that I think our team is. We talk at West Virginia all the time about just what this state represents, and we want our teams to kind of mirror that." 

As the clock was running out in the second quarter, Duke forward Jordan Wood blocked a shot attempt by West Virginia guard Jordan Harrison. Duke was entering the half with a 23-20 advantage, but with the game being so close, emotions were running high. Wood taunted Harrison, who responded by shoving her, which instigated a scrum involving multiple players that was quickly broken up. 

Harrison and Wood were both ejected for fighting. The Blue Devils saw Ashlon Jackson and Ari Roberson receive flagrant 1 fouls for contact, but no Duke player other than Wood was ejected. Meanwhile, West Virginia lost five other players -- Jordan Thomas, Kierra Wheeler, Gia Cooke, Carter McCray and Madison Parrish -- for leaving the bench. 

Ultimately, West Virginia lost four starters, including Cooke who was leading the team's offense with 12 points in the first half. Kellogg said he was disappointed in the way his team handled the situation that led to the ejections, but it led a to valuable learning experience. Instead of throwing the towel, the remaining players made a statement immediately after the break.

The Mountaineers outscored the Blue Devils 24-9 in the third quarter. Duke tried to come back in the fourth, but West Virginia held strong to get the win. Sydney Shaw led the winning offense with 16 points along with seven rebounds and Célia Rivière had 12 points and eight rebounds off the bench.

"When you have nothing to lose, you might as well just put it all out there," Shaw said postgame. "At the end of the day, when you have five players and no bench, and the other team has their entire bench, you're not exactly the first choice to win. We were definitely just playing loose."

The Mountaineers, now 4-0, have been receiving votes since the preseason but have not been ranked in the AP Top 25 yet. Although Duke entered the 2025-26 campaign with high expectations, after Friday's result the Blue Devils are 2-2. Their first loss was against Baylor in the season opener, another game in which Duke struggled to make shots. On Friday, Taina Mair was the only double-digit scorer for Duke with 10 points.

"I thought West Virginia was terrific in the second half. They just played with great competitive spirit," Duke coach Kara Lawson said postgame. "They earned the win… I can handle when a result doesn't go in your favor when you put it out there and you lay it out there. Unfortunately, tonight, we didn't lay it out there, and they did. That's why they won. They won because they earned it and they deserved to win."

West Virginia will be back on the court on Thursday morning for a game against Appalachian State. Meanwhile, Duke has a shorter turnaround as the Blue Devils will play Liberty on the road on Sunday afternoon.