03/23/26 06:27:00
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03/23 18:25 CDT Key and Strack help Kentucky women beat West Virginia 74-73 to
secure Sweet 16 trip
Key and Strack help Kentucky women beat West Virginia 74-73 to secure Sweet 16
trip
By JOHN RABY
AP Sports Writer
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) --- Teonni Key scored 19 points, Clara Strack had 18
points and 15 rebounds for her 16th double-double of the season and Kentucky
nearly gave up a big lead and held on to beat West Virginia 74-73 Monday to
advance to the NCAA women's Sweet 16 for the first time in a decade.
No. 5 seed Kentucky (25-10) will meet top-seeded and Southeastern Conference
rival Texas on Saturday in Fort Worth, Texas. Kentucky will make its seventh
trip to the regional semifinals in program history and its first since 2016.
No. 4 seed West Virginia (28-7) nearly stormed back from a double-digit
deficit. Sydney Shaw scored 11 of her 23 points in the fourth quarter and two
Jordan Harrison free throws with 1:20 left brought the Mountaineers within
72-71. But West Virginia never retook the lead.
Led by Strack, Kentucky scored the first nine points of the third quarter to
break open a tie game and take the lead for good. She had eight rebounds, four
points, two assists, a block and a steal in the period and Kentucky built its
largest lead, 62-48.
The Mountaineers were trying to get to the Sweet 16 for the first time since
its only trip in 1992, when West Virginia earned a first-round bye and needed
just one win in a field of 48 teams to get there.
Kierra Wheeler added 16 points for West Virginia.
Up Next
Kentucky lost to Texas twice earlier this year.
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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and
coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
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