Columbia Advances to Face WVU Women in 1st Round of NCAA Tournament

The WVU women finally know their NCAA Tournament first-round opponent, as the Mountaineers will take on Columbia Saturday at 2 p.m.

Columbia (24-6) earned its matchup with the Mountaineers by defeating Washington, 63-60, in a First Four game Thursday evening. The sixth-seeded Mountaineers (24-7) will take on the No. 11 seed Lions in North Carolina’s Carmichael Arena in Chapel Hill, N.C.

Riley Weiss led the Lions to victory Thursday with a game-high 24 points with five three-pointers. Ceceli Collins (12) and Kitty Henderson (11) joined her in double figures. Weiss helped Columbia seal the game by making four free throws in the final 20 seconds of the game.

Weiss led Columbia in scoring this season, averaging 18 points per game while shooting 37.2% from deep.

West Virginia has not played a game in two weeks since losing to TCU in the quarterfinal round of the Big 12 Tournament. The Mountaineers closed the season strong, winning five of their last seven games, only losing to TCU twice.

WVU senior JJ Quinerly is 20 points away from moving into third place in all-time scoring in program history. She is sitting at 1,981 points, 19 away from reaching 2,000.

The WVU women and Columbia will tip off at 2 p.m. Saturday and the game will be broadcast on ESPNews. The winner will advance to the second round and face the winner of North Carolina and Oregon State, who will play in the second game Saturday afternoon.

Stay tuned for WV Sports Now’s complete coverage of the WVU women’s basketball team in the NCAA Tournament on location in Chapel Hill, N.C.