MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — After erasing a 12-point deficit, West Virginia held the late leverage in its WNIT semifinal.
But when Virginia Tech guard Taylor Emery sank the go-ahead 3 with 22 seconds left, the Mountaineers failed to counter in a 64-61 season-ending loss Wednesday night.
Teana Muldrow finished her career with 20 points and six blocks for West Virginia (25-12), which had dominated the Hokies 79-61 on Nov. 25.
Emery scored 18 of her 23 points in the second half for Virginia Tech (23-13), none bigger than her 3-pointer coming out of a timeout with her team trailing 61-60.
Carey was disappointed his defenders didn’t fight through a screen to pressure the guard who broke the Hokies’ single-season scoring record earlier in the WNIT.
“We didn’t step up and let her have a wide-open 3 and she hit it,” Carey said. “The shot clock was running down, that would have been a terrible shot right there if we would have stepped up.”
West Virginia’s Naomi Davenport finished with 16 points but missed a a potential tying jumper with 5 seconds left.
“That last shot, it just rolled out,” Davenport said. “Nothing I can do about it.”
Chania Ray closed her career with nine points and nine assists, while fellow senior Kristina King grabbed 12 rebounds.
Virginia Tech advanced to face Indiana in the WNIT championship
“We thought we were an NCAA-caliber team and these are the opportunities that you can go out and kind of prove it,” Hokies coach Kenny Brooks said.
WVU trailed 19-12 after one quarter before the deficit swelled to 33-21 late in the half.
Limited to 31-percent shooting in the first two quarters, the Mountaineers shot 43 percent afterward.
Muldrow and Davenport’s baskets capped an 8-0 run that put West Virginia ahead 60-56 with 1:49 to play, but Emery got free for a backdoor lay-in. That started Virginia Tech on a 7-1 closing run that proved decisive.
“We need to regroup as a team, get these freshmen in here, get our tradition back,” Davenport said. “It’s going to be a dog summer. Everybody is going to get better.”