MORGANTOWN — Tirzah Moore had always felt she was destined for, well, more.
It was that thought, she said, that led her from Oral Roberts and into the transfer portal this spring.
“I knew I could do a little bit more for myself,” Moore said after helping WVU run past Youngstown State 94-40 on Sunday inside the Coliseum. “I didn’t want to limit my horizons.”
Her two seasons at Oral Roberts saw her win the Freshman of the Year in the Summit League, before averaging a double-double as a sophomore.
A foot injury kept her out of the Mountaineers’ first two games, but her debut Sunday was worth seeing.
She went 4 of 5 shooting — “I missed a jump shot. I’ve got to work a little more on that,” she said. — and finished with 10 points, four rebounds and two assists in 21 minutes.
“She’s our best rebounder,” WVU head coach Mark Kellogg said. “She didn’t get a ton of rebounds, but the ones she gets are kind of eye-opening. She can get up there and really go get those. She has the ability to score around the rim with a high efficiency.”
With Moore now playing, the Mountaineers (3-0) are basically playing with what Kellogg expects for the rest of the season.
Ainhoa Holzer and Ashala Moseberry are still waiting to be cleared by the NCAA for eligibility and Zya Nugent is out for the season with an injury.
There is no way to know at this point if WVU will get Moseberry or Holzer eligible this season.
With that said, Moore brings another angle for opponents to worry about. She is physical around the rim, but also accomplished.
Her play is smooth and athletic, not rushed and hurried.
“Tirzah is a very athletic post,” said WVU guard J.J. Quinerly, who finished with 14 points and four assists. “She stretches the floor out for us. She can rebound the ball and post up. She can do a lot for us.”
Not bad for a guard, or at least that’s what WVU lists Moore as.
“I think I really am a true forward just because of my size,” the 6-foot Moore said. “I can play out or under the rim. I don’t think a specific position defines me.”
The game was a blowout from the start, as WVU ran out to a 9-0 lead and the advantage only grew from there.
Jordan Harrison led WVU with 16 points and Lauren Fields added 14 and four 3-pointers.
The Mountaineers hit 13 threes in all, their most in a game since playing Texas Tech in 2018.
WVU’s full-court press forced 21 turnovers and the Mountaineers finished with a season-high 22 assists.
All 10 WVU players scored at least one basket, as the Mountaineers finished at 57.1% (36 of 63) shooting.
“It was a solid performance for sure, our best one to date,” Kellogg said. “We’ve really talked about getting close to 40 minutes and striving for that, which we never will. That’s always the goal. This was closer than we’ve been.”
Kylee Blacksten and Jayla Hemingway both added nine points for WVU.
Youngstown State (2-2) was held to just 30% shooting (16 of 53) and the Penguins didn’t match WVU’s 27 first-quarter points until there was 7:46 remaining in the game.
“I think our team has a lot of potential,” Moore said. “I think we have some really good players. We have great shooters. We have great finishers. I think we have a lot of potential in what our future can be.”
