Appalachian hopes to erase the memories of the first game they played this season, against these same Virginia Cavaliers in the WNIT’s Sweet 16 on Thursday Night in Charlottesville. Virginia defeated Richmond on Monday night 68-55 and were led by senior Ariana Moorer, who tallied 16 points, 8 assists and five steals. The game marked the 25th time this season that Virginia held an opponent to fewer than 60 points. Appalachhian is among those twenty-five, as they lost to Virginia 80-48.

In the first game, just by looking at a boxscore, one can tell that Appalachian has changed a lot since that game, and did not particularly play well. Anna Freeman fouled out and only played 19 minutes. Raven Gary, who has started some games in the latter part of the season for the Mountaineers, only played two minutes. Marayh Sydnor and Katie Mallow combined for 6/18 shooting in 52 combined minutes. I expect the freshman to play a much larger role in this game, now that they have some experience, compared to their first game as collegians.

I surely dont expect another thirty point loss. Appalachian has experience in games of this magnitude. After the emtional win on Saturday, the Mountaineers have had some time to celebrate and refocus on the task at hand. Besides playing each other earlier in the season, the only other common opponent was NC State. Both teams won their respective games in Raleigh with Virginia beating the Wolfpack by eight points, and the Mountaineers winning by four points.