COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The sixth-seeded West Virginia University women’s basketball team faces No. 3-seed Maryland in the NCAA Championship Second Round on Sunday, March 19, at the XFINITY Center. Sunday’s tipoff is slated for 2:30 p.m. ET.
The game will be televised on ESPN2. Fans in the West Virginia, Maryland and Pittsburgh region can watch the entire contest on the network. Those in other areas will have whip-around coverage or other games. The full game can be accessed by using the WatchESPN app or by visiting WatchESPN.com.
Dan Zangrilli and Meg Bulger will have the call on the Mountaineer Sports Network from IMG. Fans can listen to various affiliates across the state (click here for the full list), WVUsports.com, the WVU Gameday app and TuneIn.
The Mountaineers face No. 3-seed Maryland (31-2) on Sunday. The Terrapins upended Bucknell, 103-61, to advance to the second round. UMD won the Big Ten Tournament with a 74-64 win over Purdue. Maryland’s lone two losses were to UConn (87-81) and at Ohio State (98-87). WVU and UMD meet for the first time since 1981, with the Terps winning the two previous matchups.
“We are excited to be in this game,” coach Mike Carey. “We know Maryland is a great team. We know we are going to have to play a lot better than we did last night, but I’m sure we will. We are excited to play and see what happens tomorrow.”
No. 4/3-ranked UMD leads the nation in scoring offense (89.9 points per game), second in field goal percentage (50.9%), second in rebounding margin (+14.9) and third in scoring margin (+25.4). All-Americans Brionna Jones and Shatori Walker-Kimbrough pace the Terrapins. Jones leads the nation in field goal percentage (69.8%), while averaging 20.0 points and 10.7 rebounds per game. Walker-Kimbrough is second with 18.8 points per game and paces UMD with 70 triples. Destiny Slocum leads Maryland with 193 assists. Slocum is averaging 11.3 points, while Kaila Charles follows with 10.0 ppg.
“It cannot be a 90-point game. If it is we are in trouble,” explained Carey. “We have to defend, move the basketball, and take good shots. When we have opportunities on the fast break, we have to take the easy scores when we get them. We cannot come down and be in a hurry if the fast break is not there. We have to get movement. Whenever there is movement there is confusion.”
West Virginia (24-10) used a 10-0 fourth quarter run to propel past Elon, 75-62, in the NCAA Championship First Round on Friday. Tynice Martin scored 26 points and became the third-quickest Mountaineer to 1,000-points. Martin made seven field goals, three treys and connected on 9-of-10 from the charity stripe. Lanay Montgomery registered her 11th double-double of the season and 20th of her career with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Katrina Pardee tied WVU’s NCAA Tournament record with four triples, finishing with 14 points. Teana Muldrow pulled down 10 boards and scored six points in the victory.
With the win over Elon, WVU advanced to its 10th NCAA Second Round and the eighth under Carey. The Mountaineers are seeking their first Sweet 16 berth since the team’s lone regional semifinal showing in 1992. A win on Sunday would give West Virginia its highest seed victory in the NCAA Tournament. Additionally, the No. 21/20-ranked Mountaineers are seeking their sixth win over a ranked opponent this season.
Martin leads the Big 12 with 18.9 points per game and Muldrow follows with 14.5 points per contest. Montgomery leads WVU with 8.9 rebounds and is the Big 12 leader with a 68.0 field goal percentage (155-of-228). Chania Ray paces the conference with 5.9 assists per game.
The winner of Sunday’s contest will advance to the NCAA Regionals in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The regional games are slated for Saturday, March 25, and Monday, March 27, at the Webster Bank Arena.
