Senior Day for No. 18 WVU a celebration of the trio who stuck it out with Mountaineers

MORGANTOWN — It is a story that’s been told before, whether it’s come from J.J. Quinerly, Kyah Watson or Kylee Blacksten.

Yet it’s a story that bears repeating Saturday, as that trio will be celebrated on Senior Day along with three other seniors who have all played a role in the bolstering of the WVU women’s basketball team.

The No. 18 Mountaineers (19-5, 9-4 Big 12) will be searching for their 15th consecutive home win when they host Cincinnati (14-9, 6-7) at 2 p.m.

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That, in itself, would not be possible if Quinerly, Watson and Blacksten had simply decided to go another way back in 2023, when head coach Mark Kellogg had first arrived in Morgantown.

In their own words, Quinerly — who has spent her entire career at WVU that included two coaching changes — has said in the past that she wasn’t one who liked change.

 Watson and Blacksten had both transferred to WVU in 2023 and said they had taken a liking to the college atmosphere and community support provided by the fans.

They could have easily transferred elsewhere, but didn’t.

“I’ve never talked to them about why they didn’t, but I was kind of surprised,” was the way WVU guard Jordan Harrison approached the topic, herself a transfer from Stephen F. Austin who followed Kellogg to Morgantown. “Transferring is just a thing athletes do.”

Prior to Kellogg’s arrival, it was Quinerly’s emerging talents, the overall game of Watson and the outside shooting of Blacksten who helped WVU reach the 2023 NCAA tournament.

The team was set to return four starters — including guard Jayla Hemingway — from that team. All four stuck it out, with Hemingway exhausting her eligibility after Kellogg’s first season.

“They bought in as soon as we got here, which made the transition easy. I’ve said that numerous times,” Kellogg said. “They’re great kids, who are going to leave a nice legacy here.”

That legacy includes 78 victories, and counting, during Quinerly’s WVU career. Those 78 wins have told a story of a 15-15 program her freshman season developing into an eventual top 25 team as a junior and again this season.

Her legacy began with former coach Mike Carey, who retired after Quinerly’s freshman season and was replaced by Dawn Plitzuweit.

Her tenure lasted just one season, which brought Kellogg to Morgantown. At that time, it was assumed by many from the outside that Quinerly would take her talents to the transfer portal to the highest bidder, as NIL money had taken hold of college athletics.

This is where the word loyalty comes into play. Quinerly remaining at WVU was critical for the program’s future, and loyalty is the word used by both Kellogg and Harrison as to why Quinerly remained with the Mountaineers.

“She’s just a loyal kid and she wanted to truly leave a legacy and make this (program) better than it was before she got here,” Kellogg said.

Harrison used the word to describe the trio of Quinerly, Blacksten and Watson.

“I know they are very loyal people,” she said. “I think their commitment to the school was what really kept them here.”

And so they will be celebrated today against he Bearcats, with a win marking the second consecutive 20-victory season at WVU for the first time since 2017-19.

For Quinerly, it’s another opportunity to continue marching up the school’s record book. She needs 20 points today to become the program’s fifth-highest career scorer.

In Tuesday’s loss against Baylor, Quinerly became just the fourth WVU women’s player to have at least 1,800 career points and 300 career assists.

“It certainly helps when that type of player stays and talent draws other talent,” Kellogg said. “Good players want to play with other good players. Like, when Jordan came, one of the first things she did was look up J.J. Quinerly.

“Stability and continuity, I think, is huge when you want to sustain success. So, kudos to all those kids, Kylee, Kyah and J.J. in particular, because they were the ones already here. They stayed through it all, and that’s not easy to do.”