CLARION, Pa. – A second half surge led the Wheeling Jesuit women's basketball team to a 71-60 victory over Clarion University Monday night. The Cardinals trailed the Golden Eagles for over 30 minutes of action in the contest before winning the fourth quarter by 15 points, 25-10.
WJU (7-1, 4-0 Mountain East Conference) outscored Clarion 25-9 off the bench, led by freshman Chenelle Moore's 20 points and 11 rebounds. The Cardinal defense managed to hold Clarion to 10 points in the fourth quarter, leading to the 11-point Cardinal victory.
"We fell behind by 13 points, but I was very happy with our second half performance," head coach Debbie Buff expressed. "We went with a little bit of a different lineup in the second half. We played great defensively and played with a lot of energy. Jaila displayed great senior leadership and I am very proud of her."
The Golden Eagles started the game in control as they finished the first quarter with an eight-point lead, 24-16. The Clarion lead grew to 13 at the half before the WJU offense was able to get on track.
Moore netted the first seven Cardinal points of the third quarter to shrink the Clarion lead to eight at 6:40. Sophomore guard Mariah Callen knocked in a three-point attempt short after, cutting the lead to five points. A layup and a pair of free throws by senior Jaila Bryant brought the Cardinals to within one point of the Golden Eagles.
WJU trailed by four points heading into the final period of play. Callen's' three pointer just four seconds into the quarter shrunk the lead back to one. Bryant finished off a fast break layup a minute later to put WJU ahead.
WJU and Clarion traded baskets down the stretch before the Cardinal offense prevailed and scored the final seven points of the contest, leading to the 11-point victory.
Bryant led all scorers and paced the WJU attack with 23 points, five rebounds, six assists, and two steals. Moore followed closely with her second double-double of the season, scoring 20 points and pulling down 11 boards off the bench.
Callen contributed 12 points off of three of four shooting from behind the arc. Jaana Motton contributed four points and five rebounds, while Kylie Frizell and Chelsea Richardson each tallied five points.
The Cardinals take their six game winning streak on the road when they travel to Alderson Broaddus for a 5:30 p.m. contest on Thursday, December 17.
