West Virginia women’s basketball coach Mark Kellogg learned the Mountaineers could play the Hawkeyes in the second round of the NCAA Tournament and had a message for his team about Iowa State star point guard Caitlin Clark. sent.
Kellogg, in his first year as WVU’s head coach, told his No. 8 seeded team to set its sights on knocking Clark and No. 1 seed Iowa out of the tournament.
“I already told them, ‘Let’s win one and send Caitlin Clark packing.’ Mr. Kellogg said: Videos on social media showed what appeared to be Sunday’s selection party, with cheers and applause from those in attendance.
The Mountaineers and Hawkeyes are both in the Albany 2 slot.
WVU must get past No. 9 seed Princeton in the first round, and Iowa must win the March 23 game between Holy Cross and University of Tennessee-Martin College to secure a second-round matchup.
Iowa won the Big Ten Tournament with a 94-89 overtime victory over Nebraska on March 10, finishing the season with a 29-4 record and 15-3 in conference play.
The Mountaineers had a strong season, finishing 12-6 in the Big 12 and 24-7 overall.
The only time WVU lost by more than 10 points was on Jan. 6, a 70-49 loss to the Texas Longhorns.
“Let’s go dancing!!” Kellogg wrote X’s post included photos from Sunday’s event with the Mountaineers Selection. “I’m so proud of our team…they earned the opportunity to represent us in the NCAA Tournament! Let’s do it Mountaineers!!”
Clark, who led the Hawkeyes to the NCAA Championship last year where they lost to the LSU Tigers, is the 2023 AP Player of the Year and NCAA Division I’s all-time leading scorer.
The 22-year-old leads the nation in points (31.9 ppg) and assists (8.9 avg), while also shooting 46 percent from the field with 7.3 rebounds per game.
Clark declared for the 2024 WNBA Draft a day after breaking the women’s major college scoring record with a 33-point performance at the University of Minnesota last month, and will forego her senior year at the University of Iowa.
Lily Smith/The Register/USA TODAY NETWORK
The Iowa native is projected to be the No. 1 pick in the WNBA by the Fever in the April 15 draft at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York City.
Clark is fighting for his first NCAA title before turning pro, but the road to that promised land includes a Sweet 16 matchup against No. 4 seed Kansas State and a regional final against the reigning champion Tigers. It could include a national championship rematch.
