MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The West Virginia women’s basketball team (21-6, 13-5 Big 12) was selected as a No. 4 seed for the 2021 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament, announced Monday, March 15, evening.
West Virginia opens the first round against No. 13-seed Lehigh on Sunday, March 21, at 8 p.m., in the Hemisfair Region of this year’s 64-team bracket. The host site for WVU’s game against LU will be announced in the coming days. Sunday’s round-of-64 contest against the Mountain Hawks will be broadcast on ESPNU. The other teams featured in the top four of WVU’s region include No. 1 South Carolina, No. 2 Maryland and No. 3 UCLA. The Mountaineers will travel to San Antonio on Wednesday, March 17.
“It’s great getting back to the NCAA Tournament,” WVU coach Mike Carey said. “These girls have worked hard all year and have showed a lot of heart the whole year. We’re excited to get to the NCAAs and see what we can do.”
The Mountaineers’ No. 4 seed in this year’s tournament is its highest seeding since the 2013-14 season, when West Virginia earned a No. 2 seed. WVU will be making its first appearance in the NCAA tournament since the 2016-17 season and for the 13th time in program history.
West Virginia finished the regular season tied for second in the Big 12 and earned the No. 2 seed in this year’s Big 12 Championship at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo.
Lehigh (10-5, 7-5 Patriot League) is making its first NCAA tournament appearance since 2010 and its fourth in program history. The Mountain Hawks finished in fifth place in the Patriot League at the end of the regular season, but won their conference tournament to punch their ticket as an automatic qualifier for this year’s tournament.
LU is led by sophomore guard/forward Frannie Hottinger, who is averaging a team-best 14.3 points per game. Hottinger also leads Lehigh in rebounding this year, with 101 boards and an average of 6.7 per game. Senior guard Mary Clougherty and junior forward Emma Grothaus also are averaging double figures in scoring this year, at 12.1 and 11.1 points per game, respectively. Junior guard Megan Walker is Lehigh’s leader in assists this year, with 65, while fellow junior Claire Steals paces the team in steals, with 22.
The NCAA will allow a limited number of fans at the 2021 Division I Women’s Basketball Championship being held in the San Antonio region, with a capacity of up to 17% from the Sweet Sixteen through the Women’s Final Four, with each member of the 34-member official team travel party allowed up to six tickets for guests.
For first- and second-round play taking place Sunday, March 21, through Wednesday, March 24, at the Alamodome, Bill Greehey Arena on the campus of St. Mary’s (Texas), Frank Erwin Center (Texas), University Events Center (Texas State) and the UTSA Convocation Center.
