MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Basketball is becoming more of an “inside-out” game at the professional levels in the NBA and WNBA, and WVU women’s basketball coach Mike Carey is using his personnel in different ways to fit that style.
Forwards Kari Niblack and Esmery Martinez, both known for their work in the post, have shown the ability to step out and make midrange jumpers, as well as from the 3-point line. Carey said he had Niblack and Martinez work with the guards as often as he could in the offseason and the results are starting to show as the Mountaineers (15-2, 9-2 Big 12) take their 10-game winning streak into Wednesday’s game against Kansas at the WVU Coliseum.
“We started this summer as early as we could,” Carey said. “All [Martinez’s] individual workouts were with the guards. She was forced to do a lot more shooting 3s. We’ll continue that after this season. We really need to eventually get her to the [small forward, power forward] position. That will be the next step for her and she is a hard worker. She needs to take that next step to do what she needs to do at the next level.”
Martinez made just her second 3-pointer of the season Saturday in WVU’s 81-75 win at Texas.
Kansas (7-9, 3-7) is coming off an 82-72 win against TCU on Sunday. Prior to the win, the Jayhawks lost four straight dating back to Jan. 27, which included a pair of losses to Oklahoma State. WVU and KU were originally scheduled to play Jan. 2, but it was postponed due to COVID-19 issues within the Jayhawks’ program.
Guard Holly Kersgieter leads the scoring attack for Kansas this season, with a total of 236 points and an average of 15.7 per game. Freshman forward Ioanna Chatzileonti paces the Jayhawks in rebounding (7.9 per game) and blocks (1.5 per game) this year, while guard Zakiyah Franklin holds the team lead in assists with 56.
Gondrezick named to Naismith Trophy Midseason Watch List
Gondrezick was named to the midseason watch list for the Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy for Women’s Player of the Year, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced Tuesday.
One of 30 nominees in Division I, Gondrezick is one of five players in the Big 12 included on the midseason list. The others are Oklahoma State senior forward Natasha Mack, Texas junior center Charli Collier, Iowa State junior forward Ashley Joens and Baylor junior forward NaLyssa Smith.
Gondrezick is the second Mountaineer to be named to the Women’s Naismith Trophy Watch list in as many seasons. Last year, Tynice Martin was recognized on the preseason watch list for the award.
“She had to get it the hard way,” Carey said. “She was picked honorable mention All-Big 12. So she had to work her way into these honors. She’s got to feel great about that because nobody gave her any honors, nobody gave her anything coming into this year. I am excited for her. Hard work pays off.”
This season, Gondrezick leads West Virginia in scoring, with a total of 344 points and an average of 21.5 points per game. The Benton Harbor, Mich., native led WVU in scoring 12 times this season and has tallied 20 or more points in 11 games. Her 30-point performance at TCU helped her win the Big 12’s Women’s Basketball Player of the Week award on Feb. 1, becoming the first Mountaineer to win the honor since Martin on Feb. 4, 2019.
Earlier this year, Gondrezick surpassed 1,000 points in her NCAA career when she tallied a team-best 22 points against LSU in the South Point Thanksgiving Shootout. She currently has 809 points in her Mountaineers career.
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