Box Score Charleston, W.Va. – Wheeling Jesuit University Women's Basketball came into today's Mountain East Conference Tournament semifinal game against West Liberty University having already accomplished so much in the 2014-2015 season.  With 19 wins under their belt, the Lady Cardinals are undeniably on a spiral upward. 
 
This season's storyline between Wheeling Jesuit and West Liberty has played out like a movie trilogy.  The opening film saw Wheeling Jesuit defeat West Liberty 82-76 on their home court on Jan. 22^nd.  The second film of the series witnessed West Liberty defeat Wheeling Jesuit 60-48 on the last day of the regular season.  The trilogy's final film played out today in the semifinal round of the MEC tournament.    
 
True to form, the film started off with a flourish of activity.  West Liberty hit four three-pointers to start off the game with a 12-0 start.  West Liberty would go 4 of 6 from beyond the arc in the first five minutes of the game. 
 
A ten foot bucket by Lydia Hyburg, a pair of foul shots by Chelsea Richardson, and five points by some strong play by sophomore forward Jaana Motton pulled Wheeling Jesuit within 7 points at 14-7. 
 
At the 10:59 mark, Jaila Bryant would hit 1 of 2 from the foul line to cut the WLU lead to four, 18-14.
 
After a West Liberty missed three-point attempt on their next possession, Bryant ran the court and scored an inspiring one-handed reverse layup under the net to pull within two points, 18-16.
 
West Liberty would rev up its engine again, though.
 
The Hilltoppers would push the lead to 29-20 at the 7:02 mark with three straight three-pointers on successive possessions, the first by Bri Kamarec, the second by Hillary Southworth, and the third by Jenn Mohney.
 
Looking at the halftime stats, West Liberty hit 8 of 14 shots (57%) from beyond the arc, 19% higher than their season average.  West Liberty outshot Wheeling Jesuit 47% to 39% in the first 20 minutes of play.  Wheeling Jesuit had an advantage in both rebounds (20 to 17) and points in the paint (18 to 10).
 
Jaila Bryant led the Cardinals in the first half with 11 points and 4 rebounds, but West Liberty took a 38-28 lead into the intermission.
 
Wheeling Jesuit hit its first two shots of the second half, a pretty slash through the lane by Bryant and a Taylor Lubinsky layup in the paint.  But, West Liberty would score the next four points to push the lead back to 10.
 
At the 15:10 mark of the second half, West Liberty cooled off.  The shooting percentages were within 2% of one another.  But, Wheeling Jesuit failed to capitalize. The Cardinals missed shots and turned the ball over, prompting a timeout by Head Coach Deb Buff. 

Following the timeout, Motton connected on a pair of shots in the paint to pull the Cardinals within 6 points at 44-38. 
 
Freshman guard Mariah Callen hit a three-pointer that ignited Wheeling Jesuit and cut the lead to 44-41.  On West Liberty's next trip down the floor, Liz Flowers hit a running shot from left to right and made the foul shot after she was fouled.
 
Callen hit another three-pointer on Jesuit's next possession and the WLU lead was 47-44.  The Hilltoppers failed to connect on their next possession.  On Wheeling Jesuit's next possession, Jaana Motton connected on a pair of foul shots and West Liberty led 47-46. 
 
West Liberty kept the Cardinals at a four point distance, 50-46, on a Liz Flowers two-pointer and 1 of 2 foul shots by Kierra Simpson.
 
The game turned into a classic battle down the stretch.  Jaana Motton pulled the Cardinals to within two points at 57-55 with a layup in the paint.
 
On West Liberty's next possession, West Liberty's Kailee Howe hit a 10-footer just inside the foul line to bring the Hilltoppers back to a four-point lead 59-55. 


After a miss the next time down the court, Wheeling Jesuit turned the ball over as it went out of bounds. Kylie Frizell stole the ball on WLU's inbounds and made the layup to bring the Cardinals within a basket, 59-57.  On the next inbounds, the Cardinals put on the full court press and West Liberty turned the ball over on an errant pass. 
 
Jaila Bryant hit a 10 footer from the right side and tied the game with :24.9 seconds to play. 
 
West Liberty maintained possession for the last shot of the game.  Howe missed the shot to win it and regulation ended in a 59-59 tie, sending the game to overtime.
 
As overtime began, West Liberty's Hillary Southworth hit a layup in the paint and made the foul shot she was awarded.  Wheeling Jesuit continued to push the stone up the mountain.
 
Down three, Kylie Frizell hit a 12 footer from the left side of the foul line to draw the Cardinals within one point, 62-61.  On WJU's next possession, Motton hit a layup in the paint and made the foul shot she was awarded to put Jesuit ahead 64-62.
 
As the ball came up the court, WLU's Howe made a running one hander from the left to tie the game at 64-64 as the Civic Center exploded with excitement.
 
WJU's next possession resulted in a Mariah Callen successful layup from the right making it 66-64 Jesuit.
 
On West Liberty's next trip down the court, Flowers made the layup and the foul shot she was awarded to put West Liberty back up 67-66.
 
Jesuit pressed the ball up court and Bryant's layup attempt was blocked by West Liberty's Kierra Simpson.  West Liberty threw the ball the length of the court to Southworth for an uncontested layup, putting West Liberty ahead 69-66.
 
WJU wasn't finished yet.  Bryant hit a layup to pull within one.  On the inbounds, Jesuit fouled Hillary Southworth.  Southworth hit only 1 of 2 foul shots, giving Wheeling Jesuit the ball with :03.8 seconds left and ahead 70-68. 
 
Bryant drove the length of the court, but missed the three-point shot to win it.
 
Bryant finished the game with 22 points, 8 rebounds, and two assists.  Motton finished the game with a double-double, scoring 16 points and posting 17 rebounds.  Finally, Kylie Frizell had 12 points, seven rebounds, and one assist.  
 
"I have been coaching for 20 plus years and tonight was the first time I have cried in my career.  I really wanted this game for my players.  They believed in each other and played their hearts out tonight. This one hurts, but we will be back in Charleston next year," stated Head Coach Deb Buff.
 
With the loss, the Cardinals finished the 2014-15 season 19-9, the best record for the Women's Basketball program at Wheeling Jesuit in 10 years.  
 
"We will miss our senior Emily Robinson.  She has been a strong four-year captain for us, but we return everyone else.  This being my third recruiting class, we made tremendous strides this season.  We beat three teams, who at the time we played them, sat atop the conference standings.  We beat West Liberty on their home court.  And we had the best record in the past 10 years.  Even though the season came to an end, we gained the valuable experience and lessons this year that we can build on as we approach next season.  We are looking forward to it," added Coach Buff.