West Virginia Takes Pregame Lemons, Makes a Title Run

Pregame snacks usually skew toward protein bars, not fruit that makes your face pucker. But West Virginia's women's basketball team swears by lemon wedges as its go-to ritual, a tangy tradition that was on full display as the Mountaineers captured their first Big 12 tournament title since 2017 with Sunday's 62–53 win over TCU. The citrus routine started about two years ago, reports the Athletic, when sports behavior therapist Dr. Sofía España Pérez floated the idea and team nutritionist Jonathan Wu began setting out sliced lemons before games.

Guard Jordan Harrison, the tournament's most outstanding player after dropping 21 points in the title game, says the sharp sourness "shocks" the system and clears her head: any nerves "are gone" once she bites in. "You just restart," she says. Teammate Sydney Shaw, who grew up eating lemons, calls them fun but sometimes eye-wateringly tart. The wedges are optional and usually consumed in the locker room, though cameras caught starters chomping on the bench just before tipoff Sunday. (You can take a peek here.) Coaches haven't joined in yet, but with the lemons now a minor social-media storyline, players expect the ritual—and the citrus—to travel with West Virginia (27–6) into the NCAA tournament.