STRONG TO THE HOOP — WVU forward Jordan Thomas (left) had 12 points and five rebounds Monday night. - Benjamin Powell

MORGANTOWN — They aren’t exactly ready to be termed the twin towers just yet, but West Virginia forwards Jordan Thomas and Kierra Wheeler certainly made their presence felt Monday.

Their combined 26 points and 12 rebounds paved the way for WVU to open the season with an 83-47 victory against Purdue Fort Wayne inside the Hope Coliseum.

The final score wasn’t the surprise. It was how the Mountaineers (1-0) got there.

“We could play through the paint last year, but we did it differently,” WVU head coach Mark Kellogg said. “We did it off the dribble with the guards. Now, we have some bodies we can throw the ball into, which I thought we did a good job of early.”

Those bodies are Thomas and Wheeler, a wrecking crew down low the Mountaineers simply didn’t have a season ago. Thomas was just a freshman then and not ready to be a focal point. Wheeler was playing at Norfolk State.

Putting them together now has transitioned how Kellogg approaches his offensive gameplan.

“I think it will be a thing for us throughout the season,” he said. “Some nights more so than others. We thought we had an advantage tonight, so of course that was part of the gameplan. We certainly wanted to pound the paint, that’s the term we use.”

By the end, WVU finished with 42 points in the paint and 51 rebounds. The Mountaineers, who host Kent State on Friday night, still produced 31 turnovers, including 19 steals, which created the stat of the night.

As in you will only find two other times in the 2000s when WVU recorded at least 50 rebounds and 19 steals in the same game. The last time WVU had at least 51 rebounds in a game, Mike Carey was still the head coach.

“This year, we’ve worked so much more on the hi-lows and post touches and getting that connection,” Thomas said. “It’s very different from last year. It’s nice to have (Wheeler) down there with me. As the season goes on, we’re going to be much better. I’m excited for it.”

Thomas and Wheeler certainly got plenty of help. After going nearly eight minutes without taking a shot, Jordan Harrison came on strong from the outside and finished with 15 points. Sydney Shaw didn’t score until the second quarter, but added 11 points and seven rebounds.

It wasn’t always the prettiest of games. WVU did not shoot well from 3-point range (6 of 19), which allowed the Mastodons (0-1) to pack their defense down low to try and counter Thomas and Wheeler. WVU also committed 17 turnovers of their own.

“I guess it kind of looked like a season opener,” Kellogg said. “We had some moments that were OK. There wasn’t a lot of flow to that game. At times, I thought we looked like ourselves. Our identity showed. We turned them over and we’ll get after people and we’ll play hard. We started to finally rebound the ball.”

Thomas and Wheeler began working together over the summer, giving them plenty of time to learn a little about each other.

“J.T. is stroooong,” is the way Wheeler put it.

“I’ve learned a lot from her,” Thomas said in describing Wheeler. “She’s so good on defense. In practice I’ve had to learn how to score differently and adjust to how she guards me.”

And opponents just may have to scrap their old plans on how to guard the Mountaineers. Sure, the ultra-quick Harrison is still doing her thing and Shaw provides someone to keep an eye on. But, WVU’s commitment to getting the ball close to the rim and giving Thomas and Wheeler the green light to power their way through the paint is something that hasn’t been seen in the WVU women’s program for a while.

“It’s just a different way to play,” Kellogg said. “Each year, you kind of build things around the personnel you have. Jordan Thomas is a better version of herself this year. You add Kierra Wheeler, too. It’s just about having different options.”