URBANA, Ohio – Monday night's contest was a true representation of a team effort for the Wheeling Jesuit women's basketball program. WJU saw 10 players score on the night, leading to an 82-60 victory over Urbana University.
Jaila Bryant paced the Cardinal offense with 16 points. She collected seven caroms to go along with three assists and a steal over her 35 minutes of play.
"It was a great team effort consisting of a very balanced scoring attack," head coach Debbie Buff expressed. "We shared the ball extremely well and recorded a season high 21 assists. Our defense was excellent to only allow Urbana to score 60 points as they average almost 80 per game. Our reinforcements gave us a huge boost with 34 points. We had two really good preparation days with a lot of positive energy following our last loss and I am very proud of the way we responded."
The Urbana Blue Knights (7-9, 6-6 Mountain East Conference) jumped out to a 5-2 lead, but the Cardinals (15-3, 10-2 MEC) would respond. WJU scored the next 13 points to take a 15-5 lead.
Urbana cut into the WJU lead, and took a lead of its own, 23-22, with 5:51 remaining in the second quarter. The Cardinals had an answer once again, and took a nine-point lead into the half.
The Cardinals most important run of the game came midway through the third period.
Bryant knocked home a jumper in the paint at 7:51 to give the Cardinals a 10-point lead and to begin a 13-0 run in favor of WJU. Bryant tallied eight of the 12 Cardinal points during the run. Cassi Stein capped off the run with a jumper at 4:14, giving the Cardinals a 55-34 lead.
WJU controlled the final 10 minutes of action, never leading by less than 15 points. The largest Cardinal lead, 23 points, came off a Damonique Patterson free throw with 52 seconds remaining. Patterson finished the game off with a jumper in the last seconds, securing WJU's 82-60 victory.
Junior forward Jaana Motton chipped in 13 points on 5-7 shooting to go along with a team high nine rebounds. Stein was the third WJU player in double figures. She contributed a balanced attack consisting of 12 points, four rebounds, four assists, and three steals.
Mariah Callen added nine points and a career best seven assists. Patterson netted seven points on 3-6 shooting and collected two rebounds. Kylie Frizell scored seven points and pulled down five missed shots.
Chenelle Moore added six points, while Taylor Lubinsky and Lydia Hyburg each supplied five. Chelsea Richardson rounded out the scoring attack for WJU with her two points. Richardson dished out three assists.
The Cardinals return to action on Thursday, January 28 when they travel to West Virginia State University for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff. They then return home on Saturday, January 30 for a 2 p.m. rematch with the University of Charleston.
