MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Teonni Key had 19 points and 10 rebounds, Clara Strack had 18 points and 15 rebounds and Kentucky nearly gave up a big lead and held on to beat West Virginia, 74-73, on 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 SEC 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.
Strack, who earned honorable mention honors on The Associated Press All-America team, had her 16th double-double of the season and Key her seventh.
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 their 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, which saw its seven-game winning streak snapped.
The taller Wildcats held a 39-23 rebounding advantage and withstood both West Virginia’s trapping defense and a noisy crowd of nearly 13,000 that favored the host Mountaineers.