WVU Women’s Basketball Falls Out of AP Poll

WVU Women’s Basketball saw their three week run in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll come to an end on Monday, January 15.

A loss against then-No. 10 Texas last Saturday wasn’t enough to sour voters on the Mountaineers, who held firm at No. 24 last week, but their losing streak hit two with an ugly come-from-behind loss against Iowa State on Wednesday. West Virginia rebounded with a comfortable road win over UCF, but it seems the damage was already done at that point.

Supplanting them in the poll are the No. 24 Cyclones, who stretched their winning streak to eight with their furious comeback over the Mountaineers, and the UNLV Lady Rebels, who sit at 14-1 in the Mountain West. West Virginia essentially slid to the No. 27 spot, as their 29 points amassed clocked in behind Oregon State (59) as the first teams left on the outside looking in.

West Virginia Gears for the Stretch Run

Up next is a critical stretch for the Mountaineers, as there really aren’t any bad teams in the Big 12 this season. Games against 11-5 Houston, 12-4 Iowa State and 13-5 Texas Tech are no easy feat… but they’re a good deal easier than a pair of games against No. 12 Baylor or going on the road to face No. 7 Kansas State. As things stand right now, the Mountaineers have very good chances of making the tournament, and head coach Mark Kellogg and his team showed excellent resolve with their bounce back win over UCF, but there isn’t much more space for a skid as the schedule continues to get tougher.

The NET rankings, which take factors like strength of schedule and the difference in difficulty between home and road wins into account, list WVU Women’s Basketball at No. 26. Prior to the Iowa State loss, they’d been No. 23.