West Virginia Mountaineers
Overall Rank: #15
Conference Rank: #3 Big 12
The 2016-17 season for West Virginia illustrated that it is not about how you start the season, but how you finish it. The Mountaineers had a very up and down season during the regular season slate and Big 12 play. However, West Virginia stepped up when they needed to the most during the Big 12 Conference Tournament and won it after knocking off Oklahoma, Texas, and Baylor. A very confident Mountaineers team should head into the 2017-18 season ready to start fast and leave the bubble conversation for the NCAA Tournament in the rear-view mirror.
2016-17 Record: 24-11, 8-10
2016-17 Postseason: NCAA
Coach: Mike Carey
Coach Record: 346-182 at West Virginia, 634-284 overall
Key Departed Players (starters in bold)
Lanay Montgomery, Center, 10.6 ppg
Alexis Brewer, Guard, 6.3 ppg
Key Returning Players (starters in bold)
Tynice Martin, Junior, Guard, 18.6 ppg
Teana Muldrow, Senior, Forward, 14.5 ppg
Chania Ray, Senior, Guard, 8.6 ppg
Katrina Pardee, Junior, Guard, 7.7 ppg
Kristina King, Senior, Forward, 6.4 ppg
Anja Martin, Junior, Forward, 1.2 ppg
Key New Players
Naomi Davenport, Junior, Guard/Forward, Transfer, JC
Treresa Ekhelar, Junior, Center, Transfer, Ohio State
Kysre Gondrezick, Sophomore, Guard. Transfer, Michigan, not eligible
Destiny Harden, Freshman, Forward
Ashley Jones, Freshman, Guard
Krystaline McCune, RS Freshman, Forward
Makayla Stanley, Freshman, Center
Nia Staples, RS Freshman, Guard
Projection:
Four starters are back this season for head coach Mike Carey, led by guard Tynice Martin who is an excellent scorer. Martin averaged 18.6 points per game and can really take her game up to another level by boosting her field goal shooting percentage well over 40 percent this season. Teana Muldrow is going to be expected to dominate down low in the post after shooting 48.2 percent from the floor and collecting over eight rebounds per game. Chania Ray and Katrina Pardee are back in the backcourt this season for West Virginia. Ray and Pardee were steady performers offensively and will need to combine for about 20 points per game this season. Ashley Jones is a highly touted incoming freshman that should compete right away at point guard. Makayla Stanley is a strong candidate to replace Lanay Montgomery at center. Stanley was a nice get for Coach Carey out of Glen Allen, Virginia and was rated as the 14th best post player by ESPN HoopGurlz Dan Olson Collegiate Girls Basketball Report. Look for the Mountaineers to win around 23-26 games this season with a chance to be a Sweet 16 team this season.
Projected Postseason Tournament: NCAA
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 74.0 (30th in nation, 3rd in conference)
Scoring Defense: 62.5 (129, 4)
Field-Goal Percentage: 44.2 (34, 3)
Field-Goal Defense: 37.7 (69, 3)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 6.9 (79, 4)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 35.8 (28, 3)
Free-Throw Percentage: 73.1 (79, 4)
Rebound Margin: 5.7 (38, 3)
Assists Per Game: 15.7 (37, 2)
Turnovers Per Game: 16.2 (218, 10)
Madness 2017 Women’s Basketball Recruit Rankings:
#65 Ashley Jones
