It's hard to imagine a player as good as Kysre Gondrezick having a phobia for layups, but it's true.
 
The more wide-open she is the more worried she becomes.
 
"Layups scare me," she laughed. "It's so much pressure. It's like everybody's watching you. My 3-point shot is more of a layup."
 
Indeed it is.
 
Gondrezick is knocking down nearly 38 percent of her triples this year heading into today's game against Texas at the WVU Coliseum.
 
She is averaging a team-best 17.7 points per game on the strength of a strong start that saw her score at least 20 points in her first four games of the season.
 
"I was able to put the ball in the basket very efficiently for a few games and my teammates did a good job of looking for me and luckily I was able to convert," she said of her 86-point outburst to start the year.
 
She's being asked to be more of a scorer off the ball this year as opposed to playing the point. Madisen Smith is handling that role capably this year, which has allowed Gondrezick and Tynice Martin to do most of the scoring. Those two are contributing close to half of the team's scoring so far this year.
 
Still, Gondrezick admits she misses having the ball in her hands as soon as it is inbounded.
 
"I was an offensive threat from that angle and be a converter, but I was also able to get my teammates involved," she said. "This year my role has been completely different. I know I have to score. Playing my role that's what the team needs from me this year is to score buckets and make plays in big-time moments
 
"But I actually like passing the ball more, to be honest," she added. "It makes me feel good to see everybody else smiling and happy. We goof around nonstop both on the court and off the court, but I think we also hold ourselves accountable and place emphasis on when to be serious and when not to be. Having that chemistry off the court has made us completely better on the court."
 
Gondrezick admits team chemistry has never been better, which is one of the reasons why the Mountaineers are 12-1, ranked No. 19 in the country.
 
"We have a good group right now and everybody is getting their share of a piece of the pie and we're all the icing at the moment," she said.
 
The junior said she is thankful for the time she's been at WVU so far after transferring from Michigan, and is eager to see where things take her for the rest of this season and beyond.
 
"Everything this university has done for me … the people and most importantly, the program itself, it's being a part of something that is so much bigger than me and knowing that I still have enough room to be able to speak and give my voice in this entity, it's powerful," she said. "The fact that I can come here and shine in this program and for this state in the right way, I'm all for it.
 
This Life as a Mountaineer is presented by WVU Medicine and produced by Sean Merinar.