Fans show gratitude, pride in the face of WVU’s loss to Kentucky
· Yahoo Sports
Related video: Kentucky players recap win over West Virginia in NCAA Tournament
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (WBOY) — It wasn’t the result that the nearly 13,000 fans at Hope Coliseum wanted, but it’s an evening they’ll never forget.
Visit sport-tr.bet for more information.
“It’s so cool because, I mean, growing up, you watch March Madness,” Charlie Hullderman, a West Virginia University student from Fairmont, said. “You see all the big-time plays. You see all of it…and then coming to West Virginia, to Morgantown, it’s just an unbelievable experience, in my opinion.”
There was certainly disappointment in the building as WVU is still searching for its first NCAA Sweet 16 appearance in 34 years.
“It really sucked,” Hunter Smith, a WVU fan from Hagerstown, Maryland, said. “If we could have got, you know, the same team that showed up Saturday, I think we smoked them. Twice on Sundays and four times on a Monday. So, you know, it was just tough.”
The Mountaineers couldn’t close out a comeback in the 74-73 loss to Kentucky in the second round, but the magical season that still ended with a Big 12 Tournament championship in the trophy case wasn’t lost on the fans who came.
Guardian Caps CEO hopeful West Virginia will adopt protective covers after bill fails in House“I’m just so proud of the players, too,” Sam Cotton, a WVU fan from Morgantown, said. “I mean, like, you know, CeCe Riviere came out, and it was like, who is that with that new hairdo? And then today, it was like she was this new player. Plus, I mean, as always, you know, Sydney Shaw, Jordan Harrison, I mean, Gia Cooke? Come on. They’re all phenomenal. I just wish all of them could have played longer.”
The WVU-Kentucky game capped a weekend the likes of which has not been seen ever before in the Mountain State.
The first and second rounds of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament, played at Hope Coliseum, were the highest- and third-highest-attended women’s sporting events in the state’s history, respectively.
But some fans still believe it’s a building block to the next chapter of WVU women’s basketball.
“I think we’re going to have to put our money where our mouth is,” said Cotton. “We’re going to have to pay the coaches better, pay the staff better, and help the students, you know, academically as well as in name, image, and likeness. Because you know it’s a different day than when I was younger.”
With the loss, WVU ends the season with a 28-7 record. Kentucky will move on to face Texas in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament in Fort Worth, Texas.
Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WBOY.com.