In a game that drew millions of viewers and ultimately was one of the most-watched women’s college basketball contests of all time, people surrounding WVU women’s basketball still have their matchup vs Iowa in mind.
After finishing the regular season 24-7, the Mountaineers made the NCAA tournament as the No. 8 seed in Region 2 and defeated No. 9 Princeton 63-53 in the first round. In the second round, West Virginia faced a tough task in the No. 1-seeded Iowa and Caitlin Clark.
“I think everybody’s looking at us like, we don’t care. We’re going to go out there and play whoever regardless of the name on their backs,” WVU guard JJ Quinerly said when asked in a press conference Wednesday if people were looking at the program differently since the Iowa game.
It was a close game throughout, with Iowa taking the win in the end 64-54. Quinerly was West Virginia’s top scorer with 15, while Jordan Harrison led the team with nine assists. The Mountaineers had 16 more fouls called on them in the game, something that seemed controversial to players, coaches, fans and all those who took to social media.
“I think we definitely got more eyes on us after that game and obviously I think for ourselves, our team we got a lot of confidence from that game. Showing that we can play with anybody,” Harrison said about the Iowa game.
The Hawkeyes would go on to lose to South Carolina in the championship. With a taste of the playoffs and showing everybody how competitive they can be, West Virginia will look to have similar success, striving to make it further in the NCAA tournament in 2025.
