Although the Virginia women’s basketball team fell short of an NCAA Tournament bid, the Hoos postseason hopes are still alive with the inaugural Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT). The No. 4 seed Cavaliers will host the unseeded High Point Panthers in John Paul Jones this Thursday at 7 p.m.
Virginia coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton expressed gratitude for the opportunity on social media.
Blessed to still be competing in MARCH! Grateful to be in the WBIT…especially in its inaugural year! AND we get to host! Can’t wait to see you again WAHOO NATION!! Let’s get it!!! #ProgressIsTheProcess #GrindNowShineNow ☺️ #GoHoos李 https://t.co/idDz3d5qZ6
— Amaka ‘Mox’ Agugua-Hamilton (@UVACoachMox) March 18, 2024
In its inaugural year, the NCAA set up the WBIT with a similar format to the men’s NIT. It is a 32-team postseason tournament run by the NCAA where the preliminary rounds will be held at campus sites on March 21, 24, and 28. Following the early rounds, both the semifinals and finals will be played at Hinkle Fieldhouse located at Butler University. The WBIT committee seeded the top 16 teams, and the remaining teams were placed into the bracket as close to their own locations as possible.
This season unfolded full of both trials and tribulations as the Hoos displayed a lot of promise for not just the postseason, but years to come as well. In the 2023- 24 regular season, Virginia upset four ranked teams including No. 15 Florida State, No. 20 UNC, No. 20 Louisville, and No. 5 Virginia Tech. This team displayed a fight through each of the 30 games, but due to inconsistencies in scoring and game execution, the Cavaliers fell short in other games like Wofford, Georgia Tech, and Pittsburgh.
That sets the stage for the first non-conference tournament of the Coach Mox era. Virginia is 3-0 against High Point in prior meetings and all three of those times occurred in John Paul Jones Arena. The winner of this matchup will go on to face the winner of No. 1 Villanova vs. VCU.
In the regular season, Virginia averaged 72.8 points per game, exactly 10 points higher than High Point’s 62.8. Both teams shoot exactly 40% from the field and just over 70% for free throws too. What could be a difference maker for the Hoos is their rebounding. The Hoos averaged 41.5 rebounds per game, where the Panthers have averaged 31.4. If Virginia can rebound as effectively as it did throughout this season, that could provide an edge and more second chance opportunities.
The Panthers enter the matchup with a 20-11 overall record on this season. They finished as regular season Big South Conference Champions, which qualified them an automatic berth in the WBIT. However, in the Big South Tournament, they fell to the No. 5 seed Presbyterian College to end their hopes at the NCAA field.
The Hoos finished the regular season with a 15-14 overall record. After defeating No. 5 Virginia Tech in the regular season finale, the team had high hopes going into the ACC Tournament. However, UVA fell to Wake Forest in the first round. A rough fourth quarter led to that outcome.
Following the ACC Tournament, Coach Mox expressed her disappointment in an inability execute against Wake Forest, particularly in the final frame when the Deacons outscored the Wahoos 23-9. She said she ultimately believed Wake just wanted it more, and there was not a consistent fight as seen in previous games.
UVA’s coach also said she hoped for a shot at the postseason following the loss and now the team has one more shot to compete this season. When this Hoos vs. Panthers matchup tips off at 7 p.m. this Thursday, you know what part of the message will be to the Virginia players.
“If we do, we gotta come back out and compete and want it,” Agugua-Hamilton said after the ACC Tournament.
