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Editorial
Prior to last week, the Washington and Lee University women’s basketball team had never won an NCAA tournament game. The Generals, regular season and tournament champions of the Old Dominion Athletic Association, picked up their first NCAA win in program history Friday and followed this triumph with a second NCAA win Saturday.
As a result of these two victories on their home floor, the ninth-ranked Generals (28-2) are heading to the Sweet 16 this Friday in Providence, R.I., to face third-ranked and undefeated Rhode Island College (29-0). The challenge will be great but these Generals have already shown they’re capable of going where no other W&L women’s hoops team has ever been.
It’s been a banner year for women’s basketball in the Rockbridge area. The Southern Virginia University’s women’s team won the USA South Athletic Conference regular season and tournament championships before falling in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Friday. The Knights have won two conference championships – their first two in program history – in the past three seasons. Two years ago, the SVU women won their first NCAA tournament game ever.
These accomplishments show the strides that women’s basketball teams have made locally in recent years. A couple of local women – Emma Camden and Anna Claytor, former standout players for the highly successful Parry McCluer High School girls basketball program – are members of the SVU team. Camden, a senior, has been a key contributor and was awarded All-Sportsmanship recognition by the USA South Athletic Conference. Claytor just completed her freshman season. The PMHS girls basketball program, under the leadership of coach Adam Gilbert, has won three state titles in recent years. This year’s team claimed the Pioneer District regular season and tournament titles and advanced to the semifinals of the regional tournament. Raucous crowds have been a mainstay in the PMHS gym and on the road to cheer the Blues to victory.
Women’s basketball is gaining in popularity not only locally but statewide and nationally. Fans are filling stands in numerous college arenas across the country like never before. There has been a huge amount of public interest in following Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark’s pursuit of various NCAA records this season. On Sunday she set the career record for points – for men or women – when she broke Pete Maverich’s record of 3,667 points the former LSU great set in 1970.
The women’s game has become extremely popular in Virginia. The largest crowd to ever see a women’s basketball game in the state came out Sunday evening to John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville to see the University of Virginia women upset then-No. 5 Virginia Tech. The Hokies, the defending Atlantic Coast Conference tournament champions, made it all the way to the NCAA Final Four a year ago for the first time in program history. The regular season ACC champs this year, the Hokies are hoping to make another post-season run when ACC tournament play begins this week.
We’re excited about all of the hoopla over women’s hoops. We hope the enthusiasm can be sustained and we wish the W&L women the best as they play their very first Sweet Sixteen game on Friday. We congratulate W&L coach Christine Clancy and SVU coach Lynette Schroeder on their success.
