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Jan. 2—MORGANTOWN — Entering the 2025-2026 season, the Morgantown High girls' basketball team knew it had talent up and down its roster. Still, after the loss of star junior guard Kayli Kellogg to injury for the season, the Mohigans needed players to step up and take control.
Enter junior Carper Messerly, who has gone above and beyond for head coach John Fowkes and MHS so far this campaign.
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After seeing her role grow from a rotation player on the bench last season to solidifying her spot in the starting lineup this season, Messerly has matched that with her production on the court on both sides of the ball.
"Her most significant improvement this season is her ability to knock down the open shot, " Fowkes said. "She is a tough matchup offensively because she plays the four spot and spreads the floor, knocking down the three at a high level. Defensively, she is strong and athletic enough to guard any player, one through five."
Offensively, she is averaging over 15 points per game, with her season-high of 25 coming against Wheeling Park before Christmas. She's also had contests of 18 points against John Marshall and 17 points twice.
"I worked a tremendous amount during the offseason on every aspect of my game, " Messerly said. "We had to figure out how to fill some gaps coming into the year, and one of my goals this season was to simply contribute more for my team both on the stat sheet and in a leadership role."
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With only one senior on the roster currently, and the loss of Kellogg, Messerly says taking on the leadership role is something she welcomed, and she's quickly learning her responsibility as one of the players taking the floor to begin a game.
"The transition from coming off the bench every game to being a nightly starter is a bit different, " she explained. "Coming off the bench, I was able to get a feel for the game before stepping onto the floor, but as a starter, I've learned that I now need to help set that tone for the game. It hasn't been difficult, but it's certainly an adjustment."
Messerly has been one of multiple key pieces for the Mohigans on their way to a 5-2 start to the 2025-26 season.
"I think our team's work ethic as a whole and chemistry on and off the court are huge reasons for our success so far, " she said. "We knew we would have to all step up with Kayli being out, and she has been there every game and practice to help cheer us on and keep us motivated. That's just another example of the type of team we are ; we love each other and get along outside of basketball. Our coaches push us hard in practice, but also show that they love their players and want to help us all reach our collective goals."
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They'll look to continue their winning ways behind the play of Messerly and company on Friday evening against Spring Mills and Saturday afternoon as they welcome Class AAA No. 3 Nitro to the Rowdie Center at 1:30 p.m.
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