Virginia Tech’s women's basketball team will play Friday, March 31 in the national semifinals of the NCAA tournament. This is the first time the team has made it to the Final Four, and fans are gearing up ahead of the game.
A day before the game, Mei Machuga, a student at Virginia Tech, was inside the campus bookstore, picking out a t-shirt that was designed specifically for the Final Four game.
“I think the women making it to the final four is definitely gonna give them the credit that they deserve,” Machuga said. “Because men’s usually gets all the rep. But I think in the next couple seasons people will definitely be more attentive to their games.”
Bookstore manager Leslie Morgan said all week fans have been dropping by to purchase shirts and hats, ahead of Friday’s game. “It’s a very big deal here for the ladies here at Virginia Tech. First time that they’ve ever made this tournament this far. So a lot of people are real excited,” Morgan said.
Across campus, business major Kevin Pushie said before this season, he hasn’t always paid this much attention to women’s sports. “We had a little bit of a tough year in men’s basketball. And it’s really nice to see the ladies pick it up,” Pushie said.
The Hokies women’s basketball team will play Friday at 7 p.m. in Dallas against LSU. It marks the first time the women’s team has made it this far in the NCAA tournament, and the first time in a decade that any women’s sports team from Virginia Tech has made it this far in a championship.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
