# 2022–23 West Virginia Mountaineers women's basketball team

The 2022–23 West Virginia Mountaineers women's basketball team represented West Virginia University during the 2022–23 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Mountaineers, led by first-year head coach Dawn Plitzuweit, played their home games at WVU Coliseum and are members of the Big 12 Conference.

## Previous season

The Mountaineers finished the season 15–15, 7–11 in Big 12 play to finish in seventh place. In the Big 12 Tournament, they defeated TCU in the first round, before losing to Iowa State in the quarterfinals. They were not invited to the NCAA tournament or the WNIT.

## Offseason
### Departures

West Virginia Departures :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Year | Hometown | Reason for Departure |
| Kristen Deans | 3 | G | 5'8" | Junior | Greensboro, NC | Transferred to Florida |
| Jasmine Carson | 5 | G | 5'10" | Senior | Memphis, TN | Graduate transferred to LSU |
| Esmery Martínez | 12 | F | 6'2" | Junior | Hato Mayor del Rey, DR | Transferred to Arizona |
| Kari Niblack | 14 | F | 6'1" | Senior | Leesburg, FL | Graduate transferred to Georgia |
| Yemiyah Morris | 20 | C | 6'6" | GS Senior | San Bernardino, CA | Graduated |
| Blessing Ejiofor | 22 | C | 6'5" | GS Senior | Ebonyi, Nigeria | Graduated |
| Jeanna Cunningham | 33 | C | 6'4" | Sophomore | Brentwood, NY | Transferred to Alabama |

### Incoming

West Virginia Incoming Transfers :
| Name | Num | Pos. | Height | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Sarah Bates | 3 | G | 5'9" | GS Senior | McDonough, GA | Georgia Tech |
| Danni Nichols | 4 | G | 5'10" | GS Senior | Columbia, MO | Western Illinois |
| Kylee Blacksten | 14 | G | 6'3" | Sophomore | Colorado Springs, CO | Colorado |
| Tavy Diggs | 21 | G | 6'1" | Senior | Richardson, TX | TCU |
| Kyah Watson | 32 | G | 5'10" | Sophomore | Rapid City, SD | South Dakota |

#### Recruiting

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight |
| Imarianah Russell G | Dublin, OH | Reynoldsburg High School | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | N/A |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 91 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2023 Player Commits". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on February 20, 2023. ||||||

#### Recruiting class of 2023

US college sports recruiting information for 2023 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight |
| Grace Grocholski G | Kettle, WI | Kettle Moraine High School | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | N/A |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 91 |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: |||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2023 Player Commits". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on February 20, 2023. |||||||

## Schedule and results

Source:
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| October 30, 2022* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Fairmont State | W 83–49 | | 14 – Hemingway | 5 – Samuel | 3 – Rogers | WVU Coliseum Morgantown, WV |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 10, 2022* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | USC Upstate | W 81–31 | 1–0 | 19 – Quinerly | 7 – Watson | 3 – Watson | WVU Coliseum (1,484) Morgantown, WV |
| November 17, 2022* 10:00 a.m., ESPN+ | | Winthrop | W 70–48 | 2–0 | 15 – Smith | 6 – Blacksten | 3 – Tied | WVU Coliseum (6,640) Morgantown, WV |
| November 20, 2022* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Appalachian State | W 72–51 | 3–0 | 18 – Blacksten | 9 – Hemingway | 8 – Smith | WVU Coliseum (1,611) Morgantown, WV |
| November 24, 2022* 6:30 p.m., FloSports | | vs. Central Michigan Cancún Challenge | W 64–33 | 4–0 | 12 – Smith | 8 – Diggs | 6 – Watson | Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya (131) Cancún, Mexico |
| November 25, 2022* 4:00 p.m., FloSports | | vs. No. 13 NC State Cancún Challenge | L 40–78 | 4–1 | 16 – Quinerly | 7 – Watson | 1 – Quinerly | Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya (107) Cancún, Mexico |
| November 30, 2022* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | North Carolina Central | W 89–58 | 5–1 | 20 – Smith | 9 – Tied | 4 – Tied | WVU Coliseum (1,094) Morgantown, WV |
| December 3, 2022* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Delaware State | W 63–47 | 6–1 | 24 – Smith | 9 – Tied | 5 – Watso | WVU Coliseum (1,352) Morgantown, WV |
| December 8, 2022* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Robert Morris | W 72–42 | 7–1 | 16 – Watson | 11 – Hemingway | 7 – Nichols | WVU Coliseum (1,685) Morgantown, WV |
| December 11, 2022* 4:00 p.m., BTN+ | | at Penn State | L 57–69 | 7–2 | 16 – Quinerly | 7 – Watson | 4 – Smith | Bryce Jordan Center (2,218) University Park, PA |
| December 20, 2022* 2:30 p.m. | | vs. Georgia West Palm Beach Invitational | W 49–45 | 8–2 | 13 – Nichols | 10 – Diggs | 3 – Nichols | Massimino Court (605) West Palm Beach, FL |
| December 21, 2022* 12:00 p.m. | | vs. Miami (OH) West Palm Beach Invitational | W 82–51 | 9–2 | 17 – Nichols | 7 – Watson | 5 – Quinerly | Massimino Court West Palm Beach, FL |
| Big 12 regular season |||||||||
| December 31, 2022 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | No. 20 Oklahoma | L 77–98 | 9–3 (0–1) | 28 – Quinerly | 10 – Blacksten | 5 – Smith | WVU Coliseum (2,280) Morgantown, WV |
| January 4, 2023 7:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at No. 17 Iowa State | L 50–70 | 9–4 (0–2) | 16 – Quinerly | 7 – Watson | 3 – Quinerly | Hilton Coliseum (9,044) Ames, IA |
| January 7, 2023 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Kansas State | W 77–70 | 10–4 (1–2) | 22 – Quinerly | 9 – Blacksten | 4 – Smith | Bramlage Coliseum (5,022) Manhattan, KS |
| January 10, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | TCU | W 77–45 | 11–4 (2–2) | 18 – Smith | 8 – Hemingway | 8 – Smith | WVU Coliseum (1,267) Morgantown, WV |
| January 15, 2023 3:00 p.m., ESPNU | | No. 18 Baylor | W 74–65 | 12–4 (3–2) | 18 – Quinerly | 14 – Hemingway | 4 – Smith | WVU Coliseum (2,702) Morgantown, WV |
| January 18, 2023 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Kansas | L 58–77 | 12–5 (3–3) | 13 – Blacksten | 6 – Tied | 4 – Quinerly | Allen Fieldhouse (2,037) Lawrence, KS |
| January 21, 2023 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Texas Tech | W 67–57 | 13–5 (4–3) | 18 – Hemingway | 10 – Tied | 6 – Smith | WVU Coliseum (2,710) Morgantown, WV |
| January 28, 2023 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at TCU | W 62–55 | 14–5 (5–3) | 23 – Quinerly | 7 – Tied | 4 – Tied | Schollmaier Arena (2,314) Fort Worth, TX |
| February 1, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | No. 24 Texas | L 56–69 | 14–6 (5–4) | 12 – Bates | 5 – Watson | 1 – Tied | WVU Coliseum (1,651) Morgantown, WV |
| February 4, 2023 3:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at No. 20 Oklahoma | L 68–93 | 14–7 (5–5) | 24 – Quinerly | 5 – Tied | 2 – Bates | Lloyd Noble Center (4,179) Norman, OK |
| February 7, 2023 7:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Oklahoma State | L 68–93 | 14–8 (5–6) | 18 – Quinerly | 4 – Blacksten | 5 – Smith | Gallagher-Iba Arena (2,036) Stillwater, OK |
| February 11, 2023 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | No. 21 Iowa State | W 73–60 | 15–8 (6–6) | 20 – Quinerly | 12 – Tied | 4 – Hemingway | WVU Coliseum (2,587) Morgantown, WV |
| February 15, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Kansas | W 62–60 | 16–8 (7–6) | 17 – Smith | 7 – Beh | 7 – Smith | WVU Coliseum (1,557) Morgantown, WV |
| February 19, 2023 4:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at No. 17 Texas | L 48–74 | 16–9 (7–7) | 16 – Quinerly | 7 – Hemingway | 2 – Tied | Moody Center (6,023) Austin, TX |
| February 22, 2023 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Texas Tech | L 68–69 $^{2OT}$ | 16–10 (7–8) | 21 – Quinerly | 12 – Watson | 3 – Tied | United Supermarkets Arena (3,711) Lubbock, TX |
| February 25, 2023 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Kansas State | W 67–58 | 17–10 (8–8) | 20 – Smith | 6 – Smith | 2 – Tied | WVU Coliseum (2,425) Morgantown, WV |
| March 1, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Oklahoma State | W 71–67 | 18–10 (9–8) | 22 – Smith | 6 – Quinery | 4 – Watson | WVU Coliseum (1,952) Morgantown, WV |
| March 4, 2023 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Baylor | W 63–52 | 19–10 (10–8) | 30 – Smith | 8 – Tied | 7 – Smith | Ferrell Center (4,357) Waco, TX |
| Big 12 Tournament |||||||||
| March 10, 2023 1:00 p.m., ESPNU | (5) | vs. (4) Oklahoma State Quarterfinals | L 61–62 | 19–11 | 23 – Smith | 6 – Tied | 4 – Quinerly | Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, MO |
| NCAA Tournament |||||||||
| March 17, 2023* 12:00 p.m., ESPN | (10 G1) | vs. (7 G1) No. 25 Arizona First Round | L 62–75 | 19–12 | 19 – Quinerly | 8 – Tied | 4 – Smith | Xfinity Center College Park, MD |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. G1=Greenville 1. All times are in Central Time. |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Final |
| AP | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | RV | — | — | — | — | — | | | |
| Coaches | — | —* | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | | |
The Coaches Poll did not release a Week 2 poll and the AP Poll did not release a poll after the NCAA Tournament.