WVU Women’s Basketball Gains Steam with AP Voters

Associated Press voters left WVU Women’s Basketball outside the Top 25 for the second consecutive week, although they continue to gain traction amongst the voters according to Monday’s poll release.

Of the 40 teams receiving votes in this week’s poll, the Mountaineers are one of 12 to still boast an undefeated record; of the teams who didn’t make the Top 25, the Mountaineers (37 points) only sit behind Miami (45 points).

Last week, they fell in fourth place amongst unranked teams receiving votes with 21. It’s a solid improvement, especially when one considers that West Virginia didn’t play a single game this past week.

Prior to Monday’s win over Wright State, the Mountaineers hadn’t taken the court since Sunday, December 10, when they blew Delaware State out of the water. Without playing any games, the Mountaineers couldn’t do much to help make a case for themselves. Right now they sit at 10-0 on the season, with a final tune-up against Niagara on Thursday before Big 12 play begins following the holiday break.

The Mountaineers boast one of the best defenses in the NCAA, forcing an average of 25 turnovers per game. They allow just 53.3 points per game, and had had the No. 10 scoring defense before giving up 72 points to Wright State. On offense, they average 80.7 points per game. That’s good enough to count themselves among the top 30, but head coach Mark Kellogg maintains that the unit has yet to play their best basketball.

Prior to Monday’s game, the NET rankings listed WVU Women’s Basketball as the No. 24 team, although that could drop given their struggles in a Quad 4 win.