WVU WBB’s First Season Under Dawn Plitzuweit Ends in NCAA Tournament Loss to Arizona

That’s a wrap on the first season under head coach Dawn Plitzuweit for the West Virginia women’s basketball team. The Mountaineer were unable to play the role of Cinderella, losing to Arizona in the first round of the NCAA Women’s Tournament.

Despite losing 75-59 and playing from behind by double digits throughout the second half, sophomore JJ Quinerly helped to show the future could be bright for the Mountaineers. Quinerly led WVU in scoring with 19 points, which also equated for the second most points by a player for either team in the game.

JJ will take that, thank you 💨#HailWV pic.twitter.com/OZMGGs5xw5

— WVU Women's Basketball (@WVUWBB) March 17, 2023

Senior Madisen Smith, who surpassed 1,000 career points during her final season in Morgantown, only posted seven points in her last college game.

The win advances 7 seeded Arizona to the next round and a matchup with the winner of two seed Maryland or 15 seed Holy Cross. Conversely, West Virginia now heads home after a year that saw the Mountaineers exceed some expectations like earning an at-large bid out of a tough Big 12 for a program undergoing a system change with Plizuweit taking over for longtime former head coach Mike Carey.