West Virginia guard JJ Quinerly picks up a loose ball on Tuesday, February 11, 2025, while leaving the court against Baylor in Waco, Texas. (via Rod Aydelotte/Waco Tribune-Herald
Morgantown – It’s a story told previously, whether it comes from JJ Quinerly, Kyah Watson, and Kylee Blacksten.
But that is a story that repeats today. Because the trio will be celebrated on Senior Day along with three other seniors who played all their role in strengthening the WVU women’s basketball team.
No. 18 climbers (19-5, 9-4 Big 12) will look for 15 consecutive home wins when they host Cincinnati (14-9, 6-7) at 2pm this afternoon.
In itself, it is not possible if Quinerly, Watson, and Blacksten decide to go another path in 2023.
In their own words, Quinerly, who spent her entire career at WVU, which includes two coaching changes, has said in the past that she is not a person who likes change.
Watson and Blacksten transferred to WVU in 2023 and said they like the university atmosphere and community support provided by their fans.
They could have easily transferred elsewhere, but they weren’t.
“I never told them why they didn’t, but I was kind of surprised,” the way WVU guard Jordan Harrison approached the topic. “Moving is something athletes do.”
Before Kellogg arrived, it was Quinerly’s emerging talent, Watson’s overall game, and Blacksten’s external shooting that helped WVU reach the 2023 NCAA tournament.
The team was scheduled to return four starters from that team, including guard Jayla Hemingway. After Kellogg’s first season, all four of them stick out as Hemingway has exhausted her eligibility.
“They bought it as soon as we got here, so the transition was easy. I said it many times,” Kellogg said. “They are amazing kids and I’m going to leave a wonderful legacy here.”
That legacy includes those counted as 78 wins in Quinerly’s WVU career. These 78 victories tell the story of the 15-15 program, where her freshman season has grown into the final top 25 teams as a junior 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 only one season, taking Kellogg to Morgantown. At the time, many people were expecting outsiders to assume that Quinerly would bring her talent to the highest bidder to the relocation portal.
This is where loyalty comes into play. Quinerly remaining at WVU is important to the future of the program, and loyalty is the term used by both Kellogg and Harrison as to why they stayed with the climbers.
“She’s just a loyal child and she really wanted to leave her legacy behind and make this (the program) better than before she got here,” Kellogg said.
Harrison used the term to describe the trio of Quinerly, Blacksten and Watson.
“I know they’re very loyal people,” she said. “I think their commitment to school really kept them here.”
And they are celebrated today against his Bearcats, marking their second consecutive 20-room season at WVU for the first time since 2017-19.
For Quinerly, this is another opportunity to continue marching through the school’s record books. She needs 20 points today to become the program’s fifth-highest career scorer.
In her loss to Baylor on Tuesday, Quinerly became the fourth WVU female player with at least 1,800 career points and 300 career assists.
“It certainly helps when that type of player stays and talent brings out other talents,” Kellogg said. “Great players want to play with other great players. When Jordan came, one of the first things she did was to look into JJ Quinerly.
“I think stability and continuity are huge when you want to maintain success. So there’s a compliment to all the kids, especially Kylie, Kaia and JJ, because they’re already here. has gone through it all, but it’s not easy.”
