Jan 22, 2025
IN CONTROL — WVU’s Jordan Harrison controls the ball during a recent game. – Benjamin Powell
MORGANTOWN — Jordan Harrison says her first introduction to J.J. Quinerly came through watching clips of her on her iPad.
After a couple of summer workouts and conversations with her WVU women’s hoops teammate back in 2023, turns out Quinerly had also done some scouting on Harrison, too.
“Prior to meeting each other, we had already watched each other’s films,” Harrison said. “When I actually took my first visit to WVU, J.J. wasn’t here, so I didn’t get to meet her. The first time we met was when the coaches began working us out together.”
It was maybe in those early workouts where something clicked.
Quinerly had already established herself as part of the Mountaineers’ foundation, the speedy and athletic guard who came up with steals and turned them into fast breaks at the other end.
Now, Harrison — a new transfer from Stephen F. Austin back in those early days — was right there with her, going step for step with Quinerly in those workouts.
One would push a little harder, the other kept right up.
“Jordan is probably just as fast as me,” Quinerly said last season. “We definitely push each other in practice. That’s a good thing.”
The duo are now in the middle of their second season of pushing each other and competing together, creating havoc along the way for other Big 12 teams.
The 16th-ranked Mountaineers (15-3, 5-2 Big 12) travel to the desert for two games in the state of Arizona, beginning with an 8:30 p.m. tip-off today against Arizona State (8-11, 2-5), which is followed by a game against Arizona on Saturday.
Both have played a major role. Quinerly is sixth in the Big 12 in scoring (18.4 ppg), while Harrison is 18th (14.2 ppg).
Quinerly leads the conference with 3.2 steals per game. Harrison is eighth at 2.1.
Both are also in the top 20 of the Big 12 in assists.
They are mirrors of each other, it would seem, maybe the perfect teammates.
“For me, I always wanted to play with somebody who was like me,” Harrison said. “It was always just me on the teams I played for. There was never someone like J.J. before. I knew that could present something good.”
No small steps
Here’s the thing about both guards: Neither will tower over an opponent in stature.
Quinerly is listed at 5-foot-8, Harrison at 5-6, and both listings might be somewhat generous.
It hasn’t stopped them from forming maybe one of the best guard tandems in the Big 12, if not the country.
“My thought when we got here was to put these two elite guards in the best position for success,” said WVU head coach Mark Kellogg, who coached Harrison for a season at Stephen F. Austin, before getting hired at WVU. “If I could find those two in 6-feet (bodies) that would be great, but it doesn’t always work out like that.
“These two, I wouldn’t trade them. I think they’re as dynamic as any combo in the country.”
While being recruited in high school, Harrison admitted last season that she had been told numerous times she was too short to make a major impact in college.
It only fueled her, setting that major chip on her shoulder to prove everyone wrong.
Having played 50 career games now with Quinerly, Harrison said their lack of size isn’t really a concern to either of them.
“We already know we’re smaller, but we’ve made adjustments,” Harrison said. “We know how to get our shots off and how to use our speed to our advantage.
“I think we’re like everyone else. We know how to use what we got. I don’t even think about it too much anymore.”
An outside opinion was asked of Iowa State head coach Bill Fennelly, who has scheduled his Cyclones against some of the top competition this season, including No. 2 South Carolina and No. 6 UConn with All-American Paige Bueckers.
“I think Quinerly, for sure, is a pro,” Fennelly said. “I don’t think there’s any question. She’s a little undersized, but that size only matters if you can stay in front of her. You can say, ‘Use your length to guard her,’ but that length doesn’t matter if she blows right by you.
“I think she’s one of the best guards in the country, I really do. I’ve got to sit and watch the Paige Bueckers and the South Carolinas. We’ve sat across the floor from some great guards and (Quinerly) is on that list, no question.”
Perfect teammates,
perfect system
West Virginia’s full-court pressing style allows Harrison and Quinerly to use their speed to the best of their abilities.
For 94 feet, the duo are chasing opponents into traps, intercepting passes or simply lying in wait for a player to turn the wrong way so they can jar the ball loose.
It’s Kellogg’s system that is maybe the best compliment to both players, not allowing teams to get comfortable and begin to wear down the smaller duo.
“We’re not afraid to play a half-court game, but I don’t know if that’s the best thing for us,” Kellogg said.
Harrison took it a step further. If WVU was not this fast-tempo tempo team creating havoc, would they still be J.J. and Jordan?
“I would say probably not,” Harrison said. “We have to use our speed and quickness to our advantage. We can’t play slow like everyone else.
“If we did have to play like that, it wouldn’t be as much fun.”
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