Five Mountaineers Named to 2022 All-Big 12 Teams
March 07, 2022 04:38 PM | Women's Basketball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Five members of the West Virginia University women's basketball team have been named to the 2022 All-Big 12 teams, the conference announced on Monday.
Junior forward Esmery Martinez headlined this year's selections and was named to the All-Big 12 Second Team. She is joined by freshman guard JJ Quinerly, who was unanimously selected to the 2022 Big 12 All-Freshman Team.
Of note, Quinerly was one of three players to be unanimously tabbed to the All-Freshman Team, joining Texas guard Rori Harmon and Kansas State guard Serena Sundell.
Rounding out this year's All-Big 12 honors are senior forward Kari Niblack, senior guard Madisen Smith and junior guard KK Deans, as they each earned honorable mention status.
This year's five selections to the All-Big 12 teams are tied for the most in program history. The Mountaineers also garnered five All-Big 12 selections in 2016.
A native of Hato Mayor Del Ray, Dominican Republic, Martinez has now been named to the All-Big 12 squad for the second year in a row. She also is the fourth Mountaineer to be named to the All-Big 12 Second Team and the first since Tynice Martin in 2020.
This season, Martinez has averaged 11.1 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. Moreover, she is showing 10.5 points and 9.1 rebounds per game in her 17 Big 12 games this season.
Martinez has led WVU in rebounding in 18 games this season and has accounted a team-best 155 of the Mountaineers' 451 boards (34.4%). Additionally, the junior forward has nine double-doubles on the year and 24 in her career, which is tied for No. 5 in program history.
Of note, five of Martinez's double-doubles came during Big 12 play.
A native of Norfolk, Virginia, Quinerly becomes the fourth Mountaineer to be named to the league's All-Freshman squad, joining Bria Holmes (2013), Tynice Martin (2016) and Madisen Smith (2019).
This season, Quinerly has been one of four Mountaineers to play in all 28 games, earning 10 starts. The freshman guard has averaged 8.3 points, 2.6 assists and a team-best 2.1 steals per game. Additionally, Quinerly has racked up a team-high 59 steals, the most by a Mountaineer freshman since Ashley Powell had 66 in 2006.
Since joining the starting lineup on Feb. 2 at TCU, Quinerly has averaged 12 points per game, the second-best mark on the team, and led the Mountaineers in scoring twice.
A native of Leesburg, Florida, Niblack has now earned honorable mention status on the All-Big team in each of the last three seasons and has earned an All-Big 12 honor in every season of her career. The senior forward was honored as the Big 12's Sixth Player of the Year as a freshman in 2019.
Niblack has totaled 192 blocks in four years for the Gold & Blue, which rank No. 4 all-time. She has played in a team-best 117 games, with 83 starts, during her four-year career and has over 1,000 career points. Additionally, Niblack has 682 rebounds while at WVU, good for No. 14 in program history.
This season, Niblack has averaged 7.7 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game.
A native of Greenville, South Carolina, Smith's honorable mention accolade is her first since she was selected to the Big 12's All-Freshman Team in 2019.
In her career, Smith has played in 110 games, including a team-best 105 starts. During her four seasons at WVU, she has amassed over 850 points, 400 assists, 200 rebounds and 120 steals. She also has finished in double figures 36 times.
In all-time program history, Smith is No. 11 in assists and is tied for No. 12 in starts. Additionally, she ranks in the top 20 in program history in minutes played and is the only Mountaineer with multiple 50-minute games in their career.
This season, Smith has averaged 9.0 points, 1.0 steal and a team-best 4.2 assists per game. The senior guard has 13 double-figure games on the year and has led WVU in scoring 10 times.
A native of Greensboro, North Carolina, Deans has now earned All-Big 12 Honorable Mention status in each of the last two seasons.
Prior to a season-ending knee injury against Baylor on Jan. 29, Deans scored 261 points to pace the Mountaineers' offensive attack and led WVU in scoring 10 times through the first 18 games. Her 14.5 points per game average remains the best mark on the team this season. Additionally, Deans continues to rank in the top three in points scored, free throw percentage (90%) and steals (29) this year.
Junior forward Esmery Martinez headlined this year's selections and was named to the All-Big 12 Second Team. She is joined by freshman guard JJ Quinerly, who was unanimously selected to the 2022 Big 12 All-Freshman Team.
Of note, Quinerly was one of three players to be unanimously tabbed to the All-Freshman Team, joining Texas guard Rori Harmon and Kansas State guard Serena Sundell.
Rounding out this year's All-Big 12 honors are senior forward Kari Niblack, senior guard Madisen Smith and junior guard KK Deans, as they each earned honorable mention status.
This year's five selections to the All-Big 12 teams are tied for the most in program history. The Mountaineers also garnered five All-Big 12 selections in 2016.
A native of Hato Mayor Del Ray, Dominican Republic, Martinez has now been named to the All-Big 12 squad for the second year in a row. She also is the fourth Mountaineer to be named to the All-Big 12 Second Team and the first since Tynice Martin in 2020.
This season, Martinez has averaged 11.1 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. Moreover, she is showing 10.5 points and 9.1 rebounds per game in her 17 Big 12 games this season.
Martinez has led WVU in rebounding in 18 games this season and has accounted a team-best 155 of the Mountaineers' 451 boards (34.4%). Additionally, the junior forward has nine double-doubles on the year and 24 in her career, which is tied for No. 5 in program history.
Of note, five of Martinez's double-doubles came during Big 12 play.
A native of Norfolk, Virginia, Quinerly becomes the fourth Mountaineer to be named to the league's All-Freshman squad, joining Bria Holmes (2013), Tynice Martin (2016) and Madisen Smith (2019).
This season, Quinerly has been one of four Mountaineers to play in all 28 games, earning 10 starts. The freshman guard has averaged 8.3 points, 2.6 assists and a team-best 2.1 steals per game. Additionally, Quinerly has racked up a team-high 59 steals, the most by a Mountaineer freshman since Ashley Powell had 66 in 2006.
Since joining the starting lineup on Feb. 2 at TCU, Quinerly has averaged 12 points per game, the second-best mark on the team, and led the Mountaineers in scoring twice.
A native of Leesburg, Florida, Niblack has now earned honorable mention status on the All-Big team in each of the last three seasons and has earned an All-Big 12 honor in every season of her career. The senior forward was honored as the Big 12's Sixth Player of the Year as a freshman in 2019.
Niblack has totaled 192 blocks in four years for the Gold & Blue, which rank No. 4 all-time. She has played in a team-best 117 games, with 83 starts, during her four-year career and has over 1,000 career points. Additionally, Niblack has 682 rebounds while at WVU, good for No. 14 in program history.
This season, Niblack has averaged 7.7 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game.
A native of Greenville, South Carolina, Smith's honorable mention accolade is her first since she was selected to the Big 12's All-Freshman Team in 2019.
In her career, Smith has played in 110 games, including a team-best 105 starts. During her four seasons at WVU, she has amassed over 850 points, 400 assists, 200 rebounds and 120 steals. She also has finished in double figures 36 times.
In all-time program history, Smith is No. 11 in assists and is tied for No. 12 in starts. Additionally, she ranks in the top 20 in program history in minutes played and is the only Mountaineer with multiple 50-minute games in their career.
This season, Smith has averaged 9.0 points, 1.0 steal and a team-best 4.2 assists per game. The senior guard has 13 double-figure games on the year and has led WVU in scoring 10 times.
A native of Greensboro, North Carolina, Deans has now earned All-Big 12 Honorable Mention status in each of the last two seasons.
Prior to a season-ending knee injury against Baylor on Jan. 29, Deans scored 261 points to pace the Mountaineers' offensive attack and led WVU in scoring 10 times through the first 18 games. Her 14.5 points per game average remains the best mark on the team this season. Additionally, Deans continues to rank in the top three in points scored, free throw percentage (90%) and steals (29) this year.
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballMark Kellogg, Meme Wheeler & Riley Makalusky | UCF
Wednesday, February 11
Mark Kellogg, Sydney Shaw & Gia Cooke | Arizona
Saturday, February 07
Mark Kellogg | Colorado
Thursday, February 05
Mark Kellogg,Jordan Harrison & Meme Wheeler | Baylor
Sunday, February 01
