The No. 6-seeded West Virginia women’s basketball team is set to play No. 11-seeded Columbia in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament. Columbia beat Washington in their First Four matchup Thursday evening by just three points.
The Mountaineers enter the tournament with a record of 24-7 (13-5 in Big 12). During the Big 12 Tournament, West Virginia overpowered Kansas State before falling to TCU, who later went on to become the tournament champions. West Virginia went undefeated at home winning 16 games and enters the tournament for the third straight year.
West Virginia is led by Norfolk, Virginia native JJ Quinerly. This season, the senior guard averages 20.6 points, 3.1 assists, and 3.0 rebounds and steals per game. In the Mountaineers’ final home game, Quinerly put up a career-best 38 points tying the program record. She was most recently named to the Associated Press All-American list as an Honorable Mention.
As the regular season Ivy League champions, Columbia entered the tournament looking to continue their winning streak. They did just that while making history. Columbia’s victory over Washington marked their first ever March Madness win. The Lions hold an overall record of 24-6 with just one loss among 13 wins against conference opponents.They kept a near perfect record at home going 10-1.
Columbia is led by Hewlett, New York native Riley Weiss. The sophomore guard averages 18 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and 1.1 steals per game this season. Weiss has picked up honors from both the USBWA and AP as well as being named Ivy League Player of the Week multiple times.
Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. at Carmichael Arena in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The game can be found on ESPNEWS or streamed on ESPN+.
