The West Virginia University women’s basketball team returned to the court on Tuesday, Sept. 26, for its first official practice of the 2023-24 season. First-year coach Mark Kellogg‘s squad features six student-athletes from last year’s team, including four of five starters, and seven newcomers.
The 5oth Year of WVU Women’s Basketball
The West Virginia University women’s basketball program will celebrate its 50th year of competition in 2023-24. During the season, fans can relive the program’s most memorable moments with acknowledgments of the program’s rich history.
The Mountaineers will celebrate 50 years of varsity status dating back to 1973. The legendary Kittie Blakemore was tabbed the program’s first coach, tasked with building the program from the ground up.
Blakemore’s mark on women’s athletics extends far beyond the Mountain State. Through her service on several prestigious national committees, she had an impact on the development of women’s basketball and is recognized as one of the sport’s true pioneers.
Four games this season will serve as events to acknowledge the teams of the past. The opening tipoff event will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 7, when WVU takes on Loyola Maryland in the season opener and will honor teams from 1973-1989. On Sunday, Dec. 10, against Delaware State, WVU will honor teams from 1990-2014 before honoring teams from 2014 through present day on Saturday, Jan. 27, against Iowa State.
The season-long celebration wraps up on Saturday, Feb. 24, when WVU takes on Baylor with an Alumni Welcome Back event. All former team members will be invited back to Morgantown.
Quinerly Looks to Lead the Mountaineers
Junior guard JJ Quinerly has played in 61 contests across her first two seasons at West Virginia, including 43 starts. The Norfolk, Virginia, native has amassed 712 points, 205 rebounds, 149 assists and 134 steals during the span.
Additionally, Quinerly has scored in double-figures 33 times and led West Virginia in scoring 17 times. What’s more, 21 of those double-digit games came during the 2022-23 season, which also saw Quinerly score 20 or more points six times, finishing the season with a 14.5 points per-game average. For the season, she led WVU in points scored 14 times.
Quinerly’s performance last season landed her All-Big 12 honors. She was a unanimous selection to the Big 12 First Team and earned defensive team honors.
Quinerly carried a stat line of 14.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 2.1 steals per game a season ago and is looking to improve on her success entering her third season in Morgantown.
In 2021-22, she scored 264 points, which was the fourth-best mark on the team in her freshman campaign. Additionally, she led WVU in steals with 68 while adding the second-most assists with 81.
In all-time program history, Quinerly is No. 9 in steals per game after averaging 2.3 over her first two seasons.
Quinerly earned first-team status on this year’s All-Big 12 Preseason Team and was named to the Basketball Hall of Fames watch-list for the 2024 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award.
Four of Five Starters Return
This season will feature some familiar faces, with four of five starters from a season ago set to return to the court for the 2023-24 season. Fifth-year senior Jayla Hemingway, senior Kylee Blacksten and redshirt junior Kyah Watson join Quinerly in returning this season, as the quartet were the primary starters on an NCAA Tournament team a season ago.
Collectively, the group has appeared in 316 games while making 211 starts.
Hemingway enters her fourth season with the Mountaineers. Last season, she played in and started 30 contests. The guard attacked the glass for WVU, leading the team in rebounds with 176 and a 5.9 rebound average for the season.
The native of Collierville, Tennessee, was a defensive leader, adding 39 steals to her resume. She averaged 9.4 points per game, which was the third best on the team. For her career, Hemingway has seen action in 107 contests while making 68 starts.
Watson joins Quinerly as the only returner to start and play in all 31 contests a season ago. The guard averaged 30.3 minutes per game while adding 7.3 points per game. She averaged 5.1 rebounds per game, the second-best on the team while her 43 steals also ranked second on the team. She led WVU in assist-to-turnover ratio at plus 2.82.
The native of Rapid City, South Dakota has played in 74 career games while making 69 starts.
Blacksten begins her second season with the Mountaineers. Last season, Blacksten averaged 6.0 points per game while shooting 45.7 percent from the floor. She played in and started 30 games last season. For her career, Blacksten has played in 74 contests.
More on the Returners
Fifth-year senior forward Tavy Diggs and redshirt sophomore Messiah Hunter also return for West Virginia this season.
Diggs Played in 31 contests last season while making one start. She averaged 2.2 points per game while shooting 45 percent from the floor and adding 2.5 rebounds.
Hunter enters her third season in the program after redshirting her freshman season. Last year, the Hopewell, Virginia native played in 14 games while averaging 3.9 minutes per contest.
New Kids on the Block
Coach Kellogg and his staff brought in seven newcomers to finalize the 2023-24 WVU women’s basketball roster including one fifth-year senior, one senior, three juniors, one sophomore and a redshirt freshman.
Fifth-year senior guard Lauren Fields transferred from Arizona where she played one season. The native of Shawnee, Oklahoma has ties to the Big 12 Conference, playing three seasons at Oklahoma State.
In her four seasons of action, Fields has played in 115 games, with 96 starts, and has scored 934 points. Additionally, she has 354 rebounds, 266 assists and 200 steals while averaging 8.1 points per contest.
Senior guard Zya Nugent transferred from Stephen F. Austin where she played her first three seasons under Kellogg. There she averaged 11.4 points across three seasons while playing in 87 contests. She helped guide the Ladyjacks to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances. During her junior season in 2021-22, the guard averaged a career-best 12.9 points, 2.5 assists and 5.1 rebounds.
Sophomore guard Jordan Harrison also comes to WVU after transferring from Stephen F. Austin. The native of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma played in and started all 34 games during her freshman season. She was tabbed the Western Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year and earned Second Team All-Conference honors. Averaging 29.3 minutes per game, she put up 12.1 points, 5.0 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game.
Junior guard Tirzah Moore began her career with Oral Roberts, where she competed for two seasons. In 2022-23, Moore averaged a double-double with 12.9 points and 10.1 rebounds which was a Summit League best for boards. She also produced 42 blocked shots, the second most in the Summit League. During her freshman season, the Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, native was named the Summit League Freshman of the Year after scoring 14.7 points per game.
Redshirt freshman guard Ainhoa Holzer joins the Mountaineers after redshirting last season with Purdue. She holds extensive European experience at the junior and national levels in Switzerland and the United States. She was named the 2022 Swiss Basketball League Sixth Woman of the Year and Most Improved Player while being named the 2021 Rising Star of the Year.
Junior guard Ashala Moseberry and junior forward Danelle Arigbabu both came to Morgantown after competing for two seasons at junior colleges. Moseberry played at South Plains while Arigbabu competed at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M.
West Virginia officially begins its first season under Coach Kellogg on Tuesday, Nov. 7, against Loyola Maryland at the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown. The Mountaineers open Big 12 Conference play on Saturday, Dec. 30, when they hit the road to take on Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse.