The West Virginia women’s basketball team looks better than it’s been in quite some time as it enters the 2024-25 Big 11 season.
In just one year under coach Mark Kellogg, the Mountaineers won 25 games, finished in a tie for fourth in the Big 12, reached the Big 12 tournament semifinals and won an NCAA tournament game.
Then, in the second round, they pushed Caitlin Clark and Iowa to the brink of a massive upset in Iowa City, gaining attention and respect from the entire country. Aside from Iowa’s loss in the national championship game, it was probably the Hawkeyes’ toughest game of the tournament.
Kellogg has won everywhere he’s been including one of the NCAA’s standard-bearer programs at Stephen F. Austin, where he won 195 games and led the Ladyjacks to a pair of conference tournament titles.
With West Virginia he accomplished all of that with most of the roster that was there when he arrived — and most of them are back again this year.
Here’s a preview of the West Virginia Mountaineers’ upcoming season.
Odds
Vegas Insider gave West Virginia +25000 odds to win the national championship. The Big 12 coaches voted the Mountaineers to finish fifth in the preseason poll. WVU received one first-place vote.
Three Players to Watch
G JJ Quinerly: Quinerly loves to run and defend, which means she’s perfect for what Kellogg wants to do on the floor. Last year she became a bona fide star in this conference, averaging 19.8 points and earning attention as one of the conference’s top defenders. She was named to the Big 12 preseason all-conference team and is a candidate for league player of the year.
G Jordan Harrison: Harrison was one of two Stephen F. Austin players to follow Kellogg to Morgantown and her extensive knowledge of the offensive system and how Kellogg likes to deploy the team defensively came in handy, as she earned all-conference mentione and averaged more than 13 points per game. She’s only a junior. She has two more great years ahead of her.
F Célia Rivière: You never know how quickly a junior college forward will adjust to the Division I game. But, if she can, she gives WVU valuable depth behind Kylee Blacksten. With Northwest Florida State she averaged 12.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and was named an NJCAA Second Team All-American as Northwest Florida State won a national title.
Biggest Strength
Defense. Kellogg comes from a defensive background and from a school at SFA where full-court press is a way of life, dating back all the way to the days of Hall-of-Fame coach Gary Blair in the 1990s. Kellogg has injected that same full court press into the personnel at West Virginia and it fits this group like a glove. The Mountaineers ran it to near perfection last season and turned teams over at a dizzying pace to create extra possessions for the offense. There is no team in the conference that plays better connected full-court defense than the Mountaineers and in close games that can make a big difference.
Biggest Weakness
Size. The Mountaineers don’t have the big traditional center in the middle like Kansas State and Iowa State does. But in 6-3 Kylee Blacksten they have the right type of player to play that position based on their style of play. But the Mountaineers do sacrifice some rebounding and interior defense. Kellogg went to lenghts to improve the team’s size. He brought in a transfer forward, 6-3 Célia Rivière, from the junior college ranks, and recruited 6-3 Jordan Thomas out of Carrollton, Texas. Along with 6-4 backup Danelle Arigbabu, the Mountaineers do have more depth there this season.
Season Prediction
The Mountaineers should be a contender for one of the top four seeds in the Big 12 Tournament this year. Many teams in the conference were likely breaking down tape tape and working to emulate how WVU plays defense. West Virginia is that good on that end of the floor. WVU is no slouch on offense, and they get back an intriguing player that could help them on both ends in Zya Nugent, another Stephen F. Austin transfer who has missed the last two years due to injury. If she’s healthy and can contribute, she makes a huge difference for this team. We’re projecting anywhere from 21-24 wins for West Virginia before they get to the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
