The great run of the women’s basketball team is over. They did get to host the first two rounds of the tournament, as a four-seed. They easily handled 13-seed Miami (OH) in the first round (82-54), but lost an exciting game to five-seed Kentucky in the second round.
It has been said by many people who know more about basketball than I do, that in the NCAA Tournament, matchups are key. Perhaps WVU’s biggest matchup vulnerability was a tall team (no one on the roster is over 6-3). Kentucky had three starters taller than WVU’s tallest player. That created some problems, for the smaller Mountaineers. That said, WVU did not go down without a fight. Kentucky had the lead after the first quarter, but WVU battled back to tie it at halftime. The third quarter ended up being critical, as the Wildcats outscored WVU, 26-14. But Sydney Shaw got hot from three point territory, and the Mountaineer defense was able to force key turnovers, and WVU closed to within one point, and had the ball for a last shot. It ended up being a good look from near the foul line, but it rattled the rim and bounced out. WVU had lost a heartbreaker, 74-73.
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