West Virginia Mountaineers
Overall Rank: #28
Conference Rank: #4 Big 12
West Virginia has a big hole to fill with the graduation of Bria Holmes. She averaged 16.8 points and 3.7 assists and was the heart and soul of the Mountaineers team that beat Princeton in the NCAA Tournament before falling to a very good Ohio State squad. Without Holmes this will be a very different WVU squad, but there is a lot of talent returning that should get this team back to the NCAA Tournament.
2015-16 Record: 25-10, 12-6
2015-16 Postseason: NCAA
Coach: Mike Carey
Coach Record: 322-171 at West Virginia, 610-273 overall
Key Departed Players (starters in bold)
Bria Holmes, Guard, 16.8 ppg
Arielle Roberson, Forward, 4.4 ppg
Jessica Morton, Guard, 7.0 ppg
Key Returning Players (starters in bold)
Lanay Montgomery, Senior, Center, 8.2 ppg
Katrina Pardee, Sophomore, Guard, 5.9 ppg
Chania Ray, Junior, Guard, 4.6 ppg
Teana Muldrow, Junior, Forward, 10.6 ppg
Tynice Martin, Sophomore, Forward/Guard, 10.3 ppg
Alexis Brewer, Sophomore, Guard, 3.9 ppg
Desiree Rhodes, Senior, Center, 1.0 ppg
Key New Players
Aisha Edwards, Junior, Guard, JC Transfer
Kristina King, Junior, Forward, JC Transfer
Krystaline McCune, Freshman, Forward
Marlena Schmidt, RS Freshman, Forward
Nia Staples, Freshman, Guard
Bailey Thomas, Freshman, Guard
Projection
It starts with forward Teana Muldrow and wing Tynice Martin. Those two came off of the bench last year, but were second and third on the team in scoring with 10.6 and 10.3 points, respectively. Center Lanay Montgomery could see a boost in her scoring. The 6-5 senior has always been a superb rebounder and shot blocker, but she is turning into an efficient and effective scorer in the paint as well. Katrina Pardee and Chania Ray were regular starters on the perimeter. Neither was particularly productive in the scoring department, yet they gained valuable experience and will only get better. Coach Mike Carey also brought in a couple junior college transfers, Aisha Edwards and Kristina King, to add more depth all over the floor. This team is heavy on sophomores and juniors so there is a lot of hope for the future, but this is a very talented team right now too and a deep NCAA Tournament is not out of the question.
Projected Postseason Tournament: NCAA
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 70.6 (63rd in nation, 4th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 58.7 (59, 4)
Field-Goal Percentage: 44.1 (31, 2)
Field-Goal Defense: 35.4 (19, 2)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 6.1 (116, 5)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 31.9 (141, 5)
Free-Throw Percentage: 66.9 (253, 6)
Rebound Margin: 6.4 (41, 4)
Assists Per Game: 14.3 (85, 5)
Turnovers Per Game: 16.6 (219, 9)
