Watson Named Student-Athlete of the Week

Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks

February 12, 2024 11:32 AM | Baseball, General, Golf, Men's Swimming & Diving, Rifle, Women's Basketball, Gymnastics, Women's Swimming & Diving, Tennis, Track & Field, Wrestling

VSR Feb. 12, 2024

By: WVU Athletics Communications

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – After scoring a career-high in the West Virginia University women's basketball team's win over Texas Tech on Feb. 6, redshirt junior guard Kyah Watson has been named the WVU Student-Athlete of the Week, presented by University Apartments.

The Rapid City, S.D., native scored 19 points while shooting 7-of-11 (64%) from field goal range. Watson also grabbed eight rebounds, forced three steals and dished out four assists in WVU's win against Texas Tech.

Against the Baylor Bears on Feb. 10, Watson finished with a career-high 15 rebounds. She also scored 12 points to finish with her fifth career double-double. Watson has scored at least 10 points in three straight games for the Mountaineers.

Up next, West Virginia will face TCU at Schollmaier Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. ET.

This Week in Women's Basketball: The Mountaineers are set for two contests this week … WVU opens play on the road with a 7:30 p.m. ET meeting with TCU on Tuesday, at Schollmaier Arena in Fort Worth, Texas … the Mountaineers then return home for a weekend matchup against Oklahoma at the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown on Saturday, Feb. 10 … tipoff is set for 2 p.m. … the game will serve as the annual 'Pink Game', presented by the WVU Cancer Institute … fans are encouraged to wear pink.

Last Week in Women's Basketball: West Virginia opened the week on Feb. 6, with an 82-59 win over Texas Tech at the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown … the win marked the seventh straight for WVU … JJ Quinerly led WVU with 21 points … the Mountaineers then dropped a top-25 road matchup against Baylor inside Foster Pavilion on Feb. 10, in Waco, Texas … Kyah Watson had a career day with 12 points and 15 rebounds.

Notes: West Virginia leads the nation in steals per game (14.8) and turnover margin (9.44) ... Quinerly and Jordan Harrison have combined for 42 double digit scoring performances this season.

This Week in Baseball: The Mountaineers open the 2024 season this weekend with a four-game series at Stetson in DeLand, Fla. … first pitch on Friday, Feb. 9, and Saturday, Feb. 10 are set for 6:30 p.m. ET while Sunday, Feb. 11, and Monday, Feb. 12, will begin at 1 p.m.

Notes: Junior infielder JJ Wetherholt was named the Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year … Wetherholt was also named a Preseason First Team All-American by Baseball America, Perfect Game, D1Baseball and the NCBWA … additionally, he was named to the Golden Spikes Preseason Watch List after being named a semifinalist in 2023 … entering the season, Wetherholt is the projected No. 1 pick in the 2024 MLB draft by MLB.com, Baseball America and Perfect Game … the Mountaineers were picked to finish om the Big 12 Preseason Coaches' Poll … over 1,000 season tickets have already been sold this season to set a new record, a 42% increase from the total amount of season tickets sold in 2023 (706) which held the previous record until now.

This Week in Rifle: West Virginia opens postseason action on Saturday, Feb. 17, when it competes at the NCAA Qualifier in Lexington, Va., along with VMI … the match is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. ET.

Last Week in Rifle: The Mountaineers defeated No. 3 Kentucky 4728-4710 on Feb. 10, at the WVU Rifle Range to claim the program's 15th Great American Rifle Conference (GARC) regular season title … West Virginia claimed the top five spots on the aggregate leaderboard led by Matt Sanchez who posted a 1184 … his 588 in smallbore also was the best in the field … Malori Brown, Gavin Barnick and Lauri Syrja posted 598's in air rifle, which was the highest in the field.

Notes: WVU has defeated 13 teams ranked inside the top 16 of the CRCA Poll and are a perfect 13-0 overall and 6-0 in the GARC … the Mountaineers hold the highest aggregate (4740.4) and smallbore (2357.8) average in the nation and sit third in air rifle (2382.5).

This Week in Wrestling: For the first time since 2020, No. 20 West Virginia closes out the regular season by joining the WVU gymnastics team to host the fifth annual Beauty and the Beast meet on Sunday, Feb. 18, at 2 p.m. ET … WVU wrestling takes on Glenville State, while the gymnastics team competes against Big 12 Conference foes Denver and Iowa State.

Last Week in Wrestling: WVU was off last week.

Notes: WVU stands at 9-5 overall and 2-5 in the Big 12 … eight members of the squad appeared in the first NCAA coaches' ranking for the 2024 Division I Wrestling Championships, including No. 31 Jett Strickenberger (125), No. 10 Jordan Titus (141), No. 7 Ty Watters (149), No. 31 Caleb Dowling (157), No. 9 Peyton Hall (165), No. 15 Brody Conley (174), No. 29 Dennis Robin (184) and No. 31 Michael Wolfgram (HWT) … this is the first of four rankings to determine the 330 wrestlers across 10 weight classes who will clash for a spot on the podium from March 21-23 at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City … the second NCAA Coaches' ranking is set to be released later this week.

This Week in Swimming and Diving: West Virginia is off until the 2024 Big 12 Swimming and Diving Championships ... the championships will be held at the Aquatic Center at Mylan Park in Morgantown from Feb. 27-March 2.

Last Week in Swimming and Diving: West Virginia did not compete.

Notes: Senior Ivan Puskovitch competed at the World Aquatics Championships in Doha, Qatar, from Feb. 3-8 ... he became the fifth American male in history to qualify for the Olympics in open water swimming since the event was added to the Olympics in 2008 ... Puskovitch is the first male from the West Virginia University swimming and diving program to qualify for the Olympics ... he will also be the first Mountaineer to represent the U.S. in swimming at the Olympics.

This Week in Tennis: West Virginia will play host to Toledo and William & Mary ... the Mountaineers will face Toledo at 5 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 16, and William & Mary at 11 a.m. on Sunday, Feb. 18 ... both matches will be played at Summit Tennis Academy in Morgantown.

Last Week in Tennis: WVU completed the sweep in a doubleheader against Cleveland State and Radford in Morgantown on Feb. 10 ... the Mountaineers defeated Cleveland State, 5-2, and Radford, 4-1.

Notes: West Virginia (7-1) is off to its best start since it began the 2020 season at 7-0 ... freshman Maya Bordereau and redshirt sophomore Maja Dodik have been dominant as a pair this season, going 7-0 in doubles play ... three players have six singles wins this season: Bordereau, Dodik and senior Momoko Nagato ... West Virginia is 33-13 in singles play this year.

This Week in Indoor Track & Field: The Mountaineers will travel to the Penn State Tune-Up in University Park, Pa., and the Terrier DMR Challenge in Boston, Mass., on Friday, Feb. 16 … the Penn State Tune-Up is slated for 2:00 p.m. ET, while the Terrier DMR Challenge is set for a 7:15 p.m. start.

Last Week in Indoor Track & Field: West Virginia competed at the BU David Hemery Invitational on Feb. 10, at the Track and Tennis Center in Boston, Mass. … the meet was highlighted by redshirt senior Mikenna Vanderheyden who finished with a time of 2:45.67, placing herself third on the all-time list … redshirt senior Sarah Tait finished with a personal best in the women's 3,000 meters with a time of 9:16.29 … freshman Kishay Rowe contributed another personal best in the women's 800-meter run, with a 2:10.04 time … redshirt sophomore Emily Bryce ran a 4:49.60 time in the women's mile, good enough for a personal best … the meet concluded with another personal best by redshirt sophomore Tatiana Moura in the women's 3,000 meters with a time of 9:59.02.

Notes: Vanderheyden ranks fourth in the Big 12 in the women's 1,000-meter, while senior Ceili McCabe ranks second in the women's mile followed by redshirt senior Sarah Tait in eighth.

This Week in Gymnastics: West Virginia returns home for its Beauty and the Beast meet with the WVU wrestling team on Sunday, Feb. 18 … both teams will compete simultaneously inside the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown, beginning at 2 p.m. ET … gymnastics will take on Big 12 Conference foes Iowa State and Denver, while wrestling will play host to Glenville State … the contest also will serve as both teams' annual breast cancer awareness meets.

Last Week in Gymnastics: WVU tallied a season-high score on balance beam on its way to a third-place finish in a quad meet at Bowling Green inside the Stroh Center in Bowling Green, Ohio, on Feb. 11 … the Mountaineer beam squad posted a 49.275 in the first rotation, marking West Virginia's highest score on any event this season … WVU (4-6, 0-1 Big 12) also added totals of 48.95 on floor exercise, 48.5 on vault and 47.975 on the uneven bars … in the final team standings, Eastern Michigan took first place with a 196.1, followed by host BGSU with a 194.85 in second place ... the Mountaineers tallied a 194.7 to take third, while Fisk finished in fourth with a 192.3.

Notes: All five scoring gymnasts earned a 9.8 or higher on beam to help the lineup record its highest event score of the season … freshman Jurnee Lane's career-high 9.9 paced the beam lineup … the other four gymnasts set either a season or career high during the beam rotation … on the all-around, fifth-year senior Abbie Pierson earned a 39.125 total on all four events, good enough for fourth place in the final event standings … she also added a tie for second on floor and third on beam … elsewhere, Lane finished in second place on beam … the 2024 campaign marks the 50-year anniversary of the Mountaineer gymnastics program, as West Virginia will celebrate 50 years of varsity status, dating back to 1974 … Pierson returns for her fifth season of competition at West Virginia, as she leads the team with 52 meets competed in her career.

This Week in Golf: West Virginia will participate in the Gators Invitational at the Mark Bostick Golf Course in Gainesville, Fla., on Feb. 17-18 ... the first round is scheduled to begin at 7:45 a.m. ET.

Last Week in Golf: West Virginia did not compete.