Women’s Bracket Promises Excitement
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WHEELING -- The city is buzzing as the Mountain East Conference Women's Basketball Tournament tips off today inside WesBanco Arena.
It all gets started with No. 7 West Virginia State facing No. 10 Davis & Elkins, while No. 9 Wheeling University follows with a matchup against No. 8 Alderson Broaddus at 2:30 p.m.
It will be the third contest of the season between the Cardinals and the Battlers with Alderson Broaddus taking both games by scores of 98-94 and 78-72.
Hannah Taylor provided a problem for Wheeling in both games as she recorded a double-double of 17 points and 12 rebounds in the second game and netted the sixth most points scored in a single MEC game (33) this season the first time around.
"The first time we lost in overtime and then just by six," Wheeling coach Matt Schmidt said. "We just need to finish and play a complete 40 minutes on both sides of the ball and control the boards."
Wheeling will have the MEC's leading scorer in Lauren Calhoun (19.5 PPG) leading the charge after earning first team All-MEC earlier in the week.
"Lauren is a fantastic young lady," Schmidt said. "She works extremely hard and she is a fantastic teammate. I'm thrilled to see her be rewarded with first team all-conference honors. It is much deserved."
The winner of Wheeling and Alderson Broaddus will take on top-seed Glenville State, which leads the conference in offense and defense, on Thursday.
On the other side of the bracket, No. 3 West Liberty will get its March Madness underway on Thursday with a 2:30 p.m. tip against No. 6 Fairmont State.
The Hilltoppers won both contests this season by scores of 92-76 and 93-80.
Fairmont's Sierra Kotchman, who is the second leading scorer in the MEC (18.2 PPG) and is the leader in the conference in 3-point field goals per game (3.4), netted 28 points in the first meeting but was held to just 14 points the second time around.
"We just have to be dialed in, defensively," West Liberty coach Kyle Cooper said. "The key for us is our defense. We've gotten so much better defensively during the last five years. We will have to execute on defense Thursday starting with Kotchman. We'll have to get stops that will allow us to play in the open floor."
Also in those meetings, All-MEC standout Audrey Tingle provided a pair of double-doubles and will look to repeat the feat on Thursday with a pair of All-MEC teammates in Corrine Thomas and MEC Freshman of the Year Bailee Smith.
"I think they've all had special seasons," Cooper said. "I'm really proud of this group. It starts with great player leadership from Tingle and Thomas. Chemistry-wise they all play so well together. Seven triple-doubles is just off the charts for Tingle. If we had won a few more games she probably would have gotten Player of the Year. She is my Player of the Year with no disrespect to Glenville State's Re'Shawna Stone.
"Also, Bailee is going to be a generational talent. She is following the lead of Corrine and Audry and has great chemistry with the rest of the players like Karly McCutcheon and Arriana Manzay."
A win for West Liberty would mean a semifinal pairing with defending tournament champion and No. 2 seed Charleston, unless the winner of W.Va. State and Davis & Elkins pull off the upset.