Photo by Miles Sitachitta-Mountaineer Maven
Newcomers Building Success for Mountaineer Women
Losing a trio of starters from last year’s WNIT qualifier, West Virginia women’s basketball coach Mike Carey knew he had his work cut out for him this season. Despite a four-game losing streak that was just snapped on Sunday, it can be said that his efforts to reload the Mountaineers should be considered a resounding success.
A trio of newcomers, each with different paths to Morgantown have made major impacts throughout the season, helping guide West Virginia to a 14-5 start while replacing Theresa Ekhelar, Katrina Pardee, and Naomi Davenport.
Despite struggling offensively, junior college transfer Blessing Ejiofor has emerged as a crucial piece for the Mountaineers, protecting the rim and cleaning the glass at a high rate. Ejiofor began her career as a top 100 recruit at Vanderbilt, contributing in 22 games before transferring to Chipola College last season.
After an early battle for the starting center position with redshirt freshman Rochelle Norris, the junior has made her presence felt through tough defense around the rim and outstanding team play on offense. As Big 12 play opened up, the Mountaineers began employing some new offensive sets involving Ejiofor and standout guard Kysre Gondrezick.
Using the 6’5” native of Nigeria to set ball screens for the high-scoring guard, Carey was able to open up the floor for Gondrezick to slash to the basket while Ejiofor showed a new wrinkle to her game, knocking down the occasional mid-range jump shot. As her offense comes along, the sky’s the limit for what West Virginia can do when Ejiofor is on the court.
To allow the aforementioned Gondrezick to thrive in her natural shooting guard position, the Mountaineers needed to add a ball handler and freshman Kirsten “KK” Deans is proving just that. With now-sophomore starter Madisen Smith returning, the former five-star recruit has come in and become a powerful spark plug off the bench for West Virginia.
Bringing a pass-first attitude and bulldogging defense to the second unit, Deans’ role has become more and more important over the season while her strong offensive game has shown up in flashes as well.
Her breakout game came in an upset win over Mississippi State, pouring in 17 points as the Mountaineers went on the road for arguably the biggest victory of the season. Deans’ ability to keep the team under control on offense and defend the best guard on the floor will make her a very valuable piece late in the season as West Virginia tries to elbow back into the NCAA tournament conversation.
While "KK" Deans was long expected to enroll at West Virginia, the addition of Esmery Martinez came late but her contributions are seen in every game for the Mountaineers. Entering school right at the outset of the fall semester, the boost provided by her play has made the front court a force to be reckoned with.
Martinez brings the ability to score in a variety of ways and battle on the inside, evidenced by the fact she has pulled down at least six rebounds in 14 of the team’s 19 games despite playing just 17.3 minutes per contest. Her aggressiveness with the ball in her hands brings a scoring punch off the bench as well, forming a dangerous duo at the power forward spot with Kari Niblack.
With versatility on both ends of the floor and outstanding athleticism, Martinez shows each and every game the potential that could make her the future of the West Virginia women’s basketball program.
West Virginia needed an injection of new blood to have success in 2019-20. With Blessing Ejiofor, KK Deans, and Esmery Martinez on board, that success has come along nicely with the newcomers playing key roles along the way.
Now coming up on the 20 game mark, it is time for the Mountaineers to gel into the best possible version of the team, setting up for a stretch run that will try to lock up an NCAA tournament berth.
