Mountain Momma Monday: March 4

Mar 19, 2012; Norfolk, VA, USA; Stanford Cardinal forward Chiney Ogwumike (13) shoots the ball against West Virginia Mountaineers center Ayana Dunning (33) during the second half in the second round of the 2012 NCAA women

In yet another exciting week in West Virginia womens athletics, there was plenty of highs and lows to recap. The tennis team broke through this week with a big victory. The gymnastics team retained a top-25 national ranking in a high scoring home quad meet. This and more are the headlines of an exciting week in WVU sports.Basketball:

The hoops squad took care of business this past Tuesday against the over-matched Kansas State Wildcats. It was not an easy romp as it should have been, though.

WVU came into the game expecting to win and easy game but was soon given a harsh smack in the face. Kansas State jumped out to an early 10 point lead in the first half, putting the Mountaineers back on their heels. The Wildcats ended the first half with a 31-23 halftime lead.

Behind senior Ayana Dunning and junior Christal Caldwell, the Mountaineers would rally in the second half. The talented two-some combined for 30 points and 9 rebounds.

The Mountaineers took advantage of a mismatch underneath the rim, punching in 40 points from the paint. Dunning, Averee Fields, Jess Harlee, and Crystal Leary combined for 28 rebounds, completing the domination of KSU under both rims.

WVU walked away with a come-from-behind 66-57 victory.

Then came the Saturday evening showdown in the Coliseum against the #1 Baylor Bears. As expected, the West Virginia Mountaineers were not able to compete with Baylor and Brittney Griner. Baylor started the game on a 14-0 run and would not look back from there.

The Mountaineers were able to cut into Baylor’s lead, trailing by as few as 8 points in the early part of the second half. WVU’s momentum was not to continue, as Baylor ran away from the Mountaineers late.

WVU surrendered the first ever (men or women) triple double to an opponent in the Coliseum. Baylor’s Griner went off for 28 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 blocks. As impressive as that stat line is, Griner’s athletic prowess may be just a little overstated.

Still, Griner led her Bears to a dominating victory over the Mountaineers, 80-49.

After a rough loss, WVU will look to finish the regular season on a high note with a win at Texas tomorrow night prior to the Big XII tournament this weekend. The Big XII Championship will take place March 8-11 in Dallas, TX.

Gymnastics:

WVU entered the week ranked #16 nationally heading into their home quad meet this past weeked against George Washington, #13 Denver, and Temple. Another week, yet another huge score for the Mountaineers.

West Virginia took home first place finishes in the beam and vault competitions with scores of 49.3 and 49.05 respectively. The Mountaineers ended up placing second in both the uneven bars and floor competitions, losing by narrow margins to #13 Denver in each category.

The meet was highlighted by junior Hope Sloanhoffer’s first all-around victory of the 2012-13 season. She compiled a total score of 39.225.

WVU’s team score of 196.375 was good enough to notch victories over George Washington (195.3) and Temple (191.625) but not quite enough to defeat #13 Denver (196.8).

The results of WVU’s home meet push their record to 10-7 overall, with a paltry 1-7 mark against ranked opponents. For that reason, West Virginia dipped in the polls to #21.