WHEELING, W.Va. – The Wheeling Jesuit women's basketball took down the Walsh University Cavaliers, 64-53, on Wednesday night in the teams' home opener. WJU contained Walsh on the evening as they held the opponent to 30 percent shooting

The Cardinals jumped out to an early lead. At the half, WJU led Walsh 32-18. Sophomore guard Mariah Callen led WJU with seven points in the first 20 minutes of play.

Walsh made a run in the third quarter, cutting the lead to as little as six points. The Cardinals responded the Cavalier attack and went on to win by an 11 point margin.

"It was an outstanding team effort from top to bottom," head coach Debbie Buff stated. "Walsh is a very good basketball team, a 20 win team from a year ago. We knew we would have our hands full coming into the game. Collectively, we played lock down defense and executed our game plan. We had three scorers in double digits to lead the way and received quality minutes off the bench from numerous players. It was overall just a good win"

The Cardinals finished the evening with 14 assists on 24 baskets. Jaila Bryant contributed six assists while Callen added five. WJU was able to force 19 Cavalier turnovers. Jaana Motton, Bryant, and Callen each swiped three steals.

Callen paced the Cardinal offense on the night with her 16 points. She also pulled down five rebounds and collected five assists and three steals.

Motton trailed Callen closely, scoring 14 points in the contest. She was able to add four boards and three steals.  

Bryant was the third Cardinal scorer in double digits. She notched 11 points while dishing out 6 assists and swiping three steals. Bryant has scored in double digits all three games for WJU this year.

Junior Kylie Frizell contributed nine points, five rebounds, and two assists off the bench. Sophomore Cassi Stein netted five points and collected four rebounds in her first start of the season.