West Virginia Struggles from the Floor, Knocked Out of the NCAA Tournament
Chapel Hill, NC – The No. 6 West Virginia Mountaineers (25-8) shot a miserable 24.1% from the field and were knocked out in the second round of the NCAA tournament by the regional host and the third-seeded North Carolina Tarheels (29-7) Monday night 58-47.
West Virginia was held scoreless for the first three minutes of action while North Carolina claimed an early 6-0 lead before senior forward Kyah Watson drove the left baseline for the tough contested layup to get on the board.
North Carolina would build its lead to eight after Lanie Grant was awarded a pair of free throws, but the Mountaineers constructed an 8-0 in the final three and a half minutes of the first quarter to tie the game at 12.
West Virginia extended its run in the second quarter when junior guard Jordan Harrison opened the period with a three from the left side to claim the Mountaineers first lead of the game 15-12.
North Carolina reclaimed the lead after its first pair of field goals nearly four minutes into the second quarter. On the other side, West Virginia was held without a field goal for seven minutes until senior forward Kylee Blacksten worked the post for a tough bucket to cut the deficit to one, 19-18, with 2:37 remaining in the half.
The Tarheels regained a six-point advantage with a corner three from freshman guard Lanie Grant and senior forward Alyssa Ustby followed with a fade away shot from the left block for the 24-18 lead.
West Virginia guard Sydney Shaw was fouled on a three-point attempt from the left wing and the junior hit all three free throws to pull the Mountaineers within three and the Tarheels held the margin at halftime 24-21.
West Virginia and North Carolina traded 4-0 spurts, but the Tarheels held the edge on the offensive glass with a pair of offensive putbacks, and three consecutive fouls on the Mountaineers, two on senior guard JJ Quinerly, put the Tarheels in the bonus and senior guard Lexi Donarski hit both free throws to pull UNC out front 32-25 at the 6:43 mark of the third quarter.
The Mountaineers hunkered down on the defensive end and went on a 10-1 run with senior guard Sydney Woodley leading the way with four and Watson and Harrison combining for six to take a 35-33 lead with 3:02 remaining in the quarter.
The Tarheels responded with a 9-0 run, highlighted by a three from Donarksi, to take a 42-35 lead and held onto the seven-point advantage heading into the fourth quarter.
West Virgnia was held scoreless for the first 3:35 of the fourth while North Carolina built an 11-point lead, until a pair of free throws from Quinerly cut it back to nine. However, the Mountaineers were held without a field goal until a three by Shaw with 39 seconds left to play as North Carolina took the 58-47 victory.
