Gondrezick’s Unanimous Selection Headlines All-Big 12 Honors

PRESS RELEASE by WVU Athletics Communications

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (March 10, 2021) – Headlined by redshirt senior guard Kysre Gondrezick’s unanimous first-team selection, four members of the West Virginia University women’s basketball team were named to the 2021 All-Big 12 teams, the conference announced on Wednesday.

Sophomore forward Esmery Martinez joins Gondrezick on this year’s All-Big 12 First Team. West Virginia’s two first-team selections are the most in the Big 12 Conference this year and the most for WVU since 2014, when Asya Bussie and Bria Holmes earned first-team honors.

Sophomore guard Kirsten Deans and junior forward Kari Niblack also earned All-Big 12 recognition this year, as both were named All-Big 12 Honorable Mention. The Mountaineers’ four selections to the All-Big 12 teams this year are the most since 2019 (four).

A native of Benton Harbor, Michigan, Gondrezick has now been named to the All-Big 12 squad for the second year in a row. As the Mountaineers’ leading scorer from a year ago, Gondrezick was named All-Big 12 Honorable Mention prior to the 2020-21 season. She becomes WVU’s first unanimous All-Big 12 selection since Tynice Martin in 2019 and the third since joining the Big 12 Conference in the 2012-2013 season (Bria Holmes).

This year, the redshirt senior guard has led West Virginia to one of its most successful seasons in program in program history. In 23 games this season, Gondrezick has scored 461 points and is averaging a team-best 20 points per game, while also leading the Mountaineers in assists (109). She is the first Mountaineer to have 400 points and 100 assists in the same season since 2016 (Bria Holmes).

A member of the 2020-21 Naismith Trophy Midseason Watch List, Gondrezick has led the Mountaineers in scoring 15 times this season and 29 times during her three-year career. During that stretch, she has amassed 44 double-figure scoring games, including 23 20-point games and one 30-point game. Earlier this season, Gondrezick scored her 1,000th point for her NCAA career against LSU on Nov. 28, at the South Point Thanksgiving Shootout in Las Vegas, Nevada. She currently has 1,418 points in her collegiate career, including 926 at West Virginia.

A native of Hato Mayor Del Ray, Dominican Republic, Martinez is the first WVU sophomore to be named to the All-Big 12 First Team since Tynice Martin in 2017. The honor marks the first of her career.

During the 2020-21 campaign, Martinez has put together one of the best rebounding seasons in program history. Her 283 rebounds this season rank No. 14 in WVU single-season program history and are the most since Teana Muldrow hauled in 317 boards during the 2017-18 season. Additionally, Martinez has the most rebounds by a Mountaineer sophomore since 2015 (Lanay Montgomery, 294). She also currently ranks No. 3 in the Big 12 and No. 5 nationally in rebounding. Martinez has hauled in 20 or more rebounds in three games this season, the most in the Big 12 Conference and the most by a WVU player since Olivia Bradley during the 1984-85 season (six).

The sophomore forward also is second on the team in scoring this year, averaging 13.9 points per game, and is the only Mountaineer this season averaging a double-double. Martinez has amassed 13 double-doubles in 24 games this season, ranking No. 3 in the Big 12 and No. 13 nationally. Her 13 double-doubles are the most by a WVU sophomore since Lisa Szymczak finished with 15 during the 1993-94 season.

A native of Greensboro, North Carolina, Deans’ honorable mention status is the first Big 12 honor of her career. In 22 games this season, she has scored in double figures in 18 games, including 20 or more in five games, and has led WVU in scoring six times. Her best performance of the season came at Texas on Feb. 6, when she helped the Mountaineers complete the season sweep of the Longhorns by scoring a career-best 30 points.

One of West Virginia’s most well-rounded players this season, Deans also is second on the team in assists (85) and third in steals (23). She also leads the team at the free-throw and is shooting 80.8%. From the field, she is shooting 47.5%, including a team-best 43.8% from 3-point range. Deans’ 85 rebounds are the third-best mark for WVU this season.

A native of Leesburg, Florida, Niblack has now been named All-Big 12 Honorable Mention for the second consecutive year. The 2019 Big 12 Sixth Player of the Year has now garnered All-Big 12 status for the last three years.

One of the 2020-21 squad’s captains, the junior forward has continued to be a dominant presence for WVU on both ends of the court this season. Niblack has continued to show that she is one of the premier shot blockers in the Big 12 this year, rejecting 40 shots in 24 games, good for No. 2 in the Big 12 and No. 37 nationally. Niblack also is No. 6 in WVU program history in blocked shots (141). She also has greatly supported the Mountaineers’ rebounding efforts this season by hauling in 125 boards, the second-best mark on the team.

Niblack is currently averaging 9.3 points per game this season and has shot 53.3% or better from the floor in 12 games this season, including 60% or better in nine games. She also has shot 66.7% or better from the free-throw line 14 times this season, including 100% seven times.