Quinerly Named Student-Athlete of the Week

By Press release submission

Feb 17, 2023

After helping the Mountaineers to an upset victory over No. 21 Iowa State on Feb. 11, sophomore guard JJ Quinerly of the West Virginia University women's basketball team was named the WVU Student-Athlete of the Week.

Quinerly led West Virginia's scoring efforts for the third consecutive game, netting a game-high 20 points. The performance marked her fifth 20-point effort this year. It also was her 19th double-digit game of the season. The Norfolk, Virginia, native helped the Mountaineers earn their second victory over a ranked, Big 12 foe this season.

West Virginia now continues its homestand with a rematch against Kansas on Wednesday, Feb. 15. Tipoff inside the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.

This Week in Women's Basketball: West Virginia continues its homestand when it welcomes Kansas to Morgantown on Wednesday, Feb. 15 … tipoff inside the WVU Coliseum is set for 7 p.m. ET, and it will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ … the Mountaineers then hit the road for a rematch with No. 20 Texas on Sunday, Feb. 19, in Austin, Texas … action inside the Moody Center is set for 4 p.m. ET, and the game will be broadcast on ESPNU.

Last Week in Women's Basketball: WVU went 1-1 last week, first falling to Oklahoma State, 76-65, in Stillwater, Oklahoma, on Feb. 7, before tallying a 73-60 upset victory over No. 21 Iowa State in Morgantown on Feb. 11 … against the Cowgirls, sophomore guard JJ Quinerly once again led the Mountaineers with 18 points, her 18th double-digit performance this season, as well as her 10th game as the squad's leading scorer … fifth-year senior guard Madisen Smith was just behind Quinerly with 16 points, while junior forward Kylee Blacksten grabbed four boards to lead WVU's rebounding efforts … as a team, WVU shot 43.5% (27-of-62) from the floor, including 29.2% (7-of-24) from 3-point range … WVU then returned home to beat the Cyclones on Feb. 11 … the Mountaineers were led by redshirt sophomore guard Kyah Watson's 11 points and career-best 12 rebounds to earn her first career double-double … Quinerly led WVU's scoring efforts for the third consecutive game, netting a game-high 20 points … overall, West Virginia finished the contest shooting 39.7% (23-of-58) from the field, as well as 22.7% (5-of-22) from 3-point range.

Notes: Quinerly's performance against Iowa State marked her fifth 20-point effort this year … with the win, WVU moved to 13-11 all-time against the Cyclones, as well as 8-3 in games played in Morgantown … the victory snapped a three-game losing streak to Iowa State … West Virginia also ended a three-game losing skid that stretched back to its last win on Jan. 28 at TCU … West Virginia's defense is second in the Big 12 Conference in scoring defense, as it is holding opponents to an average of 60.5 points per game … the squad also sits No. 1 in the league and No. 8 nationally in turnover margin (6.70), as well as No. 1 in the Big 12 and No. 39 in the NCAA in steals per game (10.0) … individually, Quinerly is third in the conference in steals (50) and steals per game (2.17).

This Week in Wrestling: West Virginia concludes its four-dual homestand against Clarion on Friday, Feb. 17, at 7 p.m. ET … Friday's dual marks the final home contest of the season, where the wrestling program will recognize its seniors as part of Senior Night.

Last Week in Wrestling: After falling behind 9-0 in the opening two matches, the West Virginia University wrestling team battled back to secure a 20-18 victory over Air Force at the WVU Coliseum on Friday night … Air Force (7-4, 3-4 Big 12), who received two votes in this week's NWCA Division I Coaches' Poll, started strong with wins at 125 and 133 pounds, before West Virginia (8-5, 2-5 Big 12) went on a 20-0 run, highlighted by a pair of major decisions from junior Peyton Hall (165) and senior Scott Joll (174) … prior to Hall and Joll, junior Caleb Dowling took down Air Force's Jack Ganos as time expired to tie the dual up at 9-9 … three bouts later, redshirt junior Anthony Carman won a defensive battle over the Falcons' Noah Blake at 184 pounds to give the Mountaineers a cushion heading into the final two bouts of the night.

Notes: The Mountaineers sit at 8-5 overall and 2-5 against the Big 12 … nine members of the West Virginia University wrestling team rank among the top 33 of their respective weight classes in the second coaches' ranking and/or RPI leading up to this year's NCAA Championships … the list of Mountaineers included fifth-year senior Killian Cardinale (No. 6 – 125), junior Peyton Hall (No. 11 - – 165), redshirt junior Michael Wolfgram (No. 23 – HWT), junior Sam Hillegas (No. 26 – 149), redshirt sophomore Austin Cooley (No. 28 – 197), redshirt senior Alex Hornfeck (No. 29 - 157), redshirt junior Anthony Carman (No. 29 – 18 RPI), and redshirt freshman Jordan Titus (No. 31 – 141) … senior Scott Joll rounds out the group at No. 33 within the RPI at 174 pounds … according to the TakeDown Report and a variety of media guides, head coach Tim Flynn is currently sixth among winningest active coaches in Division I wrestling with 252 wins … the mark also ranks him 38th on the all-time list of Division I wrestling coaches … one more win moves Flynn into a tie for 37th alongside Ron Gray, who coached at Kent State and Franklin & Marshall from 1968-1996 and is a distinguished member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

This Week in Swimming & Diving: The West Virginia University men's and women's swimming and diving teams are off this week … the Mountaineers return at the Big 12 Swimming and Diving Championships in Austin, Texas on Feb. 22.

Last Week in Swimming & Diving: WVU was off last week.

Notes: The Mountaineers men's and women's swimming teams last competed against Villanova on senior day, where the women defeated the Wildcats 194-100, and the men won, 207.5-83.5 … the WVU men's and women's diving teams competed against Penn State on Feb. 4, where the women collected four NCAA Zone-qualifying scores … sophomore Sarah Krusinski qualified on the 1-meter and 3-meter, and added two PR's … freshman Abigail Sullivan qualified on the 1-meter and platform … three more Mountaineer divers qualified for NCAA Zones earlier in the season, including senior Marian Tiemeier (1-meter), senior Owen Johns (1-meter, 3-meter, and platform), and sophomore Glenn Eloriaga (3-meter and platform).

This Week in Tennis: The West Virginia University women's tennis team (5-2, 0-0 Big 12) is back on the road this weekend in Blacksburg, Virginia, where it will face Radford on Saturday, Feb. 18, at 5 p.m. and Virginia Tech on Sunday, Feb. 19, at 1 p.m. at the Burrows-Burleson Indoor Tennis Center.

Last Week in Tennis: West Virginia welcomed Marshall to Morgantown on Feb. 10 and later played host to Mount St. Mary's on Feb. 11, at the Summit Tennis Academy … the Mountaineers swept the weekend, defeating Marshall ,4-3, and then topping Mount St. Mary's, 6-1 … WVU dropped the doubles point against the Thundering Herd … junior Momoko Nagato and sophomore Michaela Kucharova defeated Marshall's Gabrielle Clairotte and Rieke Gillar, 6-4 … during singles play, Nagato defeated McGrane, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 … sophomore Camilla Bossi fought through all three sets to claim the victory over Emma Vanderheyden, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(4) … in the No. 5 spot, redshirt freshman Maja Dodik defeated Clairotte in two sets, 6-2, 6-1 … fifth-year senior Pei-Ju Hsieh clinched her second match of the season for the Mountaineers after defeating Sophia Hurrion, 6-4, 7-5 … during the match against Mount St. Mary's, WVU came out on top 6-1 … the Mountaineers clinched the doubles point after Bossi and sophomore Catherine Wassick defeated the Mount's Victoria Papadopoulou and Shirley Liang … during singles play, Bossi, Kucharova, Nagato, Dodik, and Hsieh all claimed victories in two sets … Wassick sufferd WVU's only loss of the day, as she fell to Ana Alvarez-Storni, 3-6, 5-7.

Notes: Last week's contest against was the fifth straight win for West Virginia over Marshall … WVU holds the all-time advantage 26-17 … the Mountaineers hold a 4-1 series record against Mount St. Mary's … WVU is set to face-off against Radford for the first time since 1988 … Virginia Tech holds the all-time advantage over the Mountaineers, 4-20, since the series began in 1983.

This Week in Track and Field: The West Virginia University track and field team wraps up the regular season at the Penn State Tune Up hosted by Penn State University in University, Park, Pennsylvania.

Last Week in Track and Field: The WVU track and field team split to compete at the BU Valentine hosted by Boston University at the BU Track and Tennis Center on Feb. 10 and the Marshall Invite hosted by Marshall University at Jeff Small Track on Feb. 10 and 11 … sophomore Cassandra Williamson completed the 800 meters in Boston in 2:06.00, good enough for second-best in program history … senior Sada Wright competed in weight throw at the Marshall Invite and also earned second-best in program history with a throw of 17.83 meters.

Notes: Williamson set her first program record of the season in the 600-meter race at the Nittany Lion Challenge at Penn State … she also is a part of the record-setting distance medley relay team … WVU has set four program records during the indoor track and field season.

This Week in Rifle: The No. 3 West Virginia University rifle team travels to Lexington, Kentucky, to face off against the No. 4-ranked Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday, on Feb. 11.

Last Week in Rifle: The Mountaineers were off last week.

Notes: West Virginia takes on Kentucky for the third time this season after claiming victory in the first two meetings … the Mountaineers are 22-11 all-time against the Wildcats … WVU is third in aggregate average this season with 4732.083 points per match … West Virginia also is third in smallbore and air rifle … senior Mary Tucker leads nation in aggregate score, averaging 1191.222 points per match … Tucker also leads the nation in smallbore average with 593.222.

This Week in Gymnastics: After two weeks away from home, West Virginia now returns to Morgantown to play host to Bowling Green on Sunday, February 19 … action inside the WVU Coliseum is tabbed for 1 p.m. ET, and the meet will be broadcast live on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.

Last Week in Gymnastics: WVU finished second in a dual meet at No. 8 Denver in Denver, Colorado, on Feb. 12 … the host Pioneers took the top spot with a 197.125, while the Mountaineers (7-6, 1-1 Big 12) followed with a 195.575 … DU topped WVU on every event except floor, where the two squads tied with 49.15 team total … West Virginia earned a new season best on bars with a 48.925 in the first rotation … senior Kianna Yancey paced the lineup with a 9.85 … West Virginia then posted a 48.625 score on vault, and it was led by a pair of 9.75s from senior Abbie Pierson and junior Kiana Lewis … WVU's only 49.0+ of the competition came on floor exercise, as it earned a 49.15 … the rotation was led by a trio of 9.85s from Lewis, Pierson and fifth-year senior Kendra Combs … West Virginia secured a solid 48.875 in the final rotation on beam, with Yancey again pacing the lineup with a 9.825 … in the final event standings, Yancey finished third on bars and the all-around, while Lewis, Pierson and Combs finished in a tie for second place on floor.

Notes: West Virginia's team score against Denver was its second highest this campaign … the Mountaineers tallied a new season best on bars for the second consecutive week … junior Ellen Collins made her season debut on vault with a career-best 9.725 … the Mountaineers sit at No. 24 on floor exercise in this week's Road to Nationals rankings … West Virginia has now been ranked in the Road to Nationals floor rankings for 25 consecutive weeks, dating back to Jan. 25, 2021.

This Week in Golf: The Mountaineers are idle and will return to the Dorado Beach Collegiate in Dorado, Puerto, Rico, on Feb. 26-28.

Last Week in Golf: True freshman Westy McCabe posted a top 20 finish and junior Will Stakel shot the lowest third round score in the field to lead the Mountaineers at the Gators Invitational in Gainesville, Florida … McCabe finished in 18th place with rounds of 70-70-74=214 to finish at 4-over-par … only seven golfers in the field finished under par … Stakel tied for the lowest round in the final 18 holes with a 2-under-par 68 … his 68 score matches a career best set at Minnesota last season … Stakel recorded rounds of 76-74-68=218 to finish 8-over-par … sophomore Max Green recorded rounds of 72-75-74=221 (+11), junior Jackson Davenport posted rounds of 73-79-78=230 (+20) and senior Trent Tipton had rounds of 73-79-80=232 (+22) … as a team, the Mountaineers finished tied for 10th place, recording rounds of 288-298-294=880.