The No. 4 seed West Virginia Mountaineers saw their season come to a heartbreaking end against No. 5 seed Kentucky in front of a raucous crowd at Hope Coliseum in Morgantown in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament.
The loss extends the program's streak of missing the Sweet 16 to a bitter 35 years. WVU fell down by double-digits in the second half but rallied late, coming within one point of the Wildcats in the final seconds before missing their final shot. Here's what we saw in the disappointing loss.
The height differential was too much for the Mountaineers
WVU was at a size disadvantage against the Wildcats, and it showed from the opening whistle to the closing whistle. Kentucky out-rebounded West Virginia 39-23 on the evening, and WVU's star post player Kierra "Meme" Wheeler looked over-matched by the Kentucky's bigger, lengthier stars in the paint, only pulling down five boards to a combined 25 from Kentucky's Teonni Key and Clara Strack.
When you're playing among the top programs in the nation in women's basketball, size does matter. And the Mountaineers and Mark Kellogg will want to add some to better handle situations like they face tonight in the future.
Gia Cooke has a bright future for West Virginia
Out of the teriffic trio of starting wings the Mountaineers had on their team this past season, Gia Cooke is the only one who will return next season. And she showed against Kentucky how valuable she is.
Cooke played an absolutely tenacious game, finished tied with Sydney Shaw as WVU's leading scorer with 23 points while playing through multiple hard falls and cramps. She was one of the only offensive answers WVU had to Kentucky's explosive scoring, and she was just about the only player who could consistently get to the rim and convert or draw fouls against Kentucky.
The junior guard led WVU with 14.8 points per game this season, and had one more year of eligibility remaining. If Kellogg keeps her in Morgantown, she could turn into one of the top talents in the sport as a senior.
The Round of 32 continue to haunts Mark Kellogg and the Mountaineers
Tonight makes three consecutive losses for Mark Kellogg and the Mountaineers in the Round of 32. As a program, they've dropped their last 12 Second Round games. That has to sting for the Mountaineers.
There is no reason to hang their heads about the season they had – they hit 25 or more wins for the third straight season under Mark Kellogg, and their 28 total wins is their best mark yet in Kellogg's three-year tenure. They captured their first Big 12 Tournament Championship in nearly a decade, and brought the NCAA Tournament to Morgantown for the first time in 34 years.
But as long as the Sweet 16 continues to elude the program, the itch will be there for more – not just for fans, and likely for Kellogg as much as anyone. There's plenty of reason to believe Kellogg will get the Mountaineers back there eventually – but sadly, it won't be in 2026.