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WVU Faces Princeton in NCAA First Round
March 14, 2016 08:57 PM | Women's Basketball
BRACKET | PHOTOS
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - The West Virginia University women’s basketball team will make its 11th overall appearance in the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship after earning an at-large berth on Monday evening. The No. 6-seed Mountaineers will face No. 11-seed Princeton in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday, March 18. Tipoff is set for noon ET at the St. John Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
West Virginia (24-6, 12-6 Big 12) finished third in the Big 12 Conference and advanced to the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship semifinal game versus Texas. The Mountaineers are making their first NCAA tournament appearance since 2014 and the ninth time under coach Mike Carey. WVU has made the postseason for a school-record 10th consecutive year. The No. 6-seed is the first for West Virginia in the NCAA Championship and the highest since earning a No. 2-seed in the 2014 tournament. The Mountaineers are 8-10 overall in the NCAA Championship.
WVU will not have any tickets available to sell to the general public. Fans, including WVU basketball season ticket holders and MAC members, interested in attending the game are encouraged to purchase tickets through Ticketmaster.com by clicking here: BUY NCAA TICKETS.
All Session tickets are $30 for adults and $20 for students, youth and seniors. Single session tickets are $20 for adults, $12 for students, youth and seniors, and $10 for groups of 10 or more (service charges may apply). Those with questions may contact the Ohio State Athletics Ticket Office at 1-800-GO-BUCKS between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Friday’s WVU-Princeton winner will play the victor of the No. 3-seed Ohio State vs. No. 14-seed Buffalo on Sunday, March 20 with a time to be determined. The first and second round winners will advance to the Sioux Falls regional. Friday’s game is televised regionally on ESPN2. ESPN3 and ESPN FULL COURT, the pay-per-view package, will offer first- and second-round games in their entirety as a supplement to ESPN and ESPN2’s coverage.
“I think it says a lot about these young ladies,” said Carey. “We have 11 new players, eight of them are freshmen. To get a 6-seed in the NCAA tournament, they did a great job this year. I am very proud of them. Now, they have to learn that when you lose a game, you are out. Everyone is going to play a little bit harder, and everyone is going to play a little bit quicker. We have to get prepared for that.”
West Virginia and Princeton meet for the first time in program history. Princeton (23-5, 12-2 Ivy League) fell 62-60 to Penn in the season finale on March 8, as the Quakers clinched the Ivy League title and the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The loss snapped the Tigers’ 12-game winning streak. Princeton picked up notable non-conference victories over Michigan (74-57) and Pittsburgh (61-47). Princeton is averaging 76.0 points per game and holding opponents to 57.8 points per contest. Princeton is second nationally with a +14.8 rebound margin and fourth in the NCAA with 31 defensive rebounds per game. Three Tigers are averaging double-figures, including Michelle Miller with a team-best 14.1 points per game. Alex Wheatley follows with 12.7 points per contest. Annie Tarakchian leads Princeton with 9.4 rebounds per game, while scoring 12.0 points per contest.
“We’ll have to get film and get tape, and we will have to get into it before tomorrow’s practice,” coach Carey said. “I have never seen them play a game. Tonight is going to be big for us to get the film and see what they do. We have to start breaking it down.”
WVU and Princeton’s lone common opponent is Yale. The Mountaineers knocked off the Bulldogs, 70-60, on Nov. 29 in the Naismith Memorial Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame Challenge in Uncasville, Connecticut. The Tigers swept the Bulldogs with a 65-50 win on Jan. 30 and a 94-81 victory on Feb. 19.
Unanimous First Team All-Big 12 honoree Bria Holmes leads the Mountaineers with 16.4 points and 3.6 assists per game. Holmes is 46 points away from becoming the third WVU women’s basketball player to reach the 2,000-point milestone. Currently, Holmes is the Big 12’s active career scoring leader.
Sophomore Teana Muldrow is second on the team with 10.5 points per game, followed by Big 12 Freshman of the Year Tynice Martin’s 10.0 points per contest. Martin’s 330 points are ninth-most by a WVU freshman.
Lanay Montgomery, an All-Big 12 Second Team selection, leads WVU with 8.0 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game. The Pittsburgh native is second in the Big 12 with a 60.5 field goal percentage. Arielle Roberson, who garnered All-Big 12 Honorable Mention, is second on the team with 7.6 rebounds per contest.
Friday’s game will be aired in its entirety in the West Virginia region on ESPN2. It will also be available on ESPN3 and ESPN FULL COURT.
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