It’s been an overdue mystery in the basketball world when it comes to stopping Caitlin Clark. After four years in Iowa and as the top-scorer of the nation in WBB, Lisa Bluder’s protegee seems to have no brakes whatsoever. However, with their round-of-32 game planned out against the WVU duo JJ Quinerly and Kyah Watson, fans were wondering if the wheels on the Hawkeyes would fall off. So what was the verdict?

While Iowa did reign over the Mountaineers with a 64-54 win, the Hawkeyes surely had to grind a lot more than they usually do. Most credits go to their junior guards Quinerly and Watson. But who are they?

How did JJ Quinerly impact WVU?

The Norfolk, Virginia native, Ja’Naiya Quinerly, has been quintessential for WVU ever since she stepped on their floor. The high school star came to WVU to major in Criminology. The Mountaineers stood at 169th rank nationally for turnovers forced per game. Also, WVU was at the 141st spot nationally for turnover margin. However, this was in 2020-21 before Quinerly became a part of this roster. Further, they were doing well on their offensive end but needed a robust defense, which JJ brought with her.

Ja’Naiya brought the team to 68th national rank for turnover margin and 18th spot for forced turnovers. Apart from her defensive abilities where she grabs 2.9 steals for the team, Quinerly also works on the offense with 14.5 ppg. On top of this, she got her name in the team leaders for a handful of factors as a freshman.

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But her complete transition occurred next year in 2022-23 when Kyah Watson also joined the Mountaineers roster. Hence, JJ was also an unarguable player to lead the team against Caitlin Clark and Iowa in the 2024 March Madness run.

Kyah Watson for the Mountaineers

Kyah Watson lands from South Dakota and is a red-shirt junior at West Virginia. Majoring in public health, Watson has further improved the Mountaineers roster with her versatile defending and top-notch rebounding. Currently, she bags 8 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 2.4 steals per game. What’s magnetic is her average of 1.8 turnovers. With Kyah, WVU returned to the NCAA and while they were out in the very first round by the 7th-seed Arizona, they had come back stronger after the 2022 break.

Watson took the team to even better national ranks in 2023. Their turnover margin was at 10th spot and their forced turnovers counted at 32nd rank nationally. They improved in steals per game as from 53rd rank in 2022, they came down to 38 in 2023. The Mountaineers also ranked first in their conference for steals and turnover margins per game.

Today, West Virginia is not an easy team to play against. And it becomes almost indestructible as their junior guards come together. Currently, WVU stands at first rank in the Big 12 for turnover margins, turnover forced, and steals per game. Their rank nationally for the same are 1, 2, and 3 respectively. They are also fifth best in their conference for scoring offense and stand at the 45th spot nationally.

Undeniably, we can see how these two absolutely magical performers were able to make the second round for Caitlin Clark and Co. tough. While they lost this time, looking at their chemistry and how the duo can play make so efficiently in the game, there is no denying that they will return next year with a much better performance for their spectators.

Nevertheless, it clearly takes a lot more to defeat the nation’s favorite baller and NCAA’s leading scorer Caitlin Clark.

What Does March Madness Road Look Like for Caitlin Clark and Iowa after Selection Sunday?