Jordan Harrison’s consistent play, not her size, has become her trademark in college

MORGANTOWN — Loaded with potential but just too small; yeah, Jordan Harrison has heard that a few times.

“That’s been a chip on my shoulder my whole career, because that’s what everyone says about me,” Harrison said Friday, as the No. 24 Mountaineers were getting prepared to host Iowa State at 2 p.m. Saturday inside the Coliseum. “I don’t pass the eye test, so people don’t know what I bring to the table.”

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What Harrison has always brought to the table is consistent results, sometimes remarkable ones.

Like the time she set an Oklahoma girls’ high school record with 74 points and 14 3-pointers in one game.

You would think schools such as Oklahoma and Oklahoma State would be all over her in recruiting.

They did show interest, but it came late. Why? Harrison can only point to her small 5-foot-6 stature.

“My height, I mean, obviously it has its pros and cons,” she said.

It didn’t scare Mark Kellogg away, who first signed her to play at Stephen F. Austin last season and she transferred to WVU once Kellogg was hired to take over the Mountaineers’ program.

Harrison had her shot to play in the big leagues and against the women who did pass the eye test in high school, the ones who garnered the four- and five-star recruiting rankings she was always overlooked for.

She never doubted she belonged.

“I’ve played against really good competition my whole life,” Harrison said. “I knew I could play against high-level players. It was about getting there and proving myself.”

That Harrison has accomplished at WVU (16-2, 5-2 Big 12), to the point where Kellogg was asked the last time he looked at a box score at the end of the game and thought Harrison didn’t play well.

“I don’t know if I’ve thought that all year, to be honest,” he replied. “There’s been a few where her turnovers were a little high. Outside of that, she just sets the stage for us.”

In her first season in a Power Five Conference, Harrison’s 5.7 assists per game are second in the Big 12. The last time she didn’t score in double figures in a game was before Thanksgiving.

Not bad for such a little girl.

“She’s a hard worker,” Kellogg continued. “The kid has earned the right to have this right now. The kid works her tail off.”

Kellogg, too, said he had no doubts about Harrison transitioning to a higher level of play, even though it meant Harrison’s height difference would be greater.

“I think because of her size some schools overlooked her a little bit,” Kellogg said. “Man, that heart is pretty big. That’s a pretty special kid to me.

“I’ve never really wanted to get wrapped up into size. Sometimes potential is wrapped up into size. Potential just means you haven’t done it yet. That scares me as a basketball coach. I don’t want to be recruiting off potential all the time. I need to know you can do it. That’s why I wasn’t worried about her, because I had seen her do it before.”

Sort of like Harrison, the Mountaineers will likely have a chip on their shoulders on Saturday against the Cyclones (12-6, 6-2).

It was just two weeks ago when WVU traveled to Hilton Coliseum and enjoyed a 19-point lead with six minutes left in the third quarter.

Iowa State then outscored WVU 27-9 in the fourth quarter for a 74-64 victory.

Iowa State scored 36 points in the paint in that win and freshman center Audi Crooks was impressive with 22 points and 11 rebounds.

“Audi Crooks is really good and she’s dominant on the low block,” Kellogg said. “They’re going to try and get her the ball. We know that. They know that. We’ve got to come up with a scheme to limit her the best we can. If she ends up having a night, we’ve got to find a way to limit the others.”