SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – Elizabeth Hales and Kori Hickman accounted for 14 points as the Wheeling Jesuit women's lacrosse team defeated Notre Dame College, 17-6, on Friday afternoon. Hales scored five goals and handed out two assists while Hickman dished out six assists and scored once.
With the victory, WJU improves to 8-5 overall and holds first place in the Mountain East Conference at a 3-0 mark.
Hales, who continues to lead the MEC in points and goals, now has 84 points on the year, which is 22 points clear of second place. She also leads the league in goals, 52, by seven over teammate Jessie Tufnell. Hickman ranks third in the conference with 42 points.
"It's nice to get another conference win," WJU head coach Tim Florence stated. "Even with the cold temperature and flurries, the team came out focused from the get go to set the tempo of the game. I was pleased with how we played offensively and defensively, plus our transitions provided us a spark by being able to get some fast break goals."
The Cardinals claimed an early 3-0 lead off goals by three different players. Kate Calder began the scoring before Paige Plesich and Hales both found the back of net off assists by Hickman. Hales added her second strike of the day before Tufnell scored her first, and WJU led 5-1 with 18:26 remaining in the first half.
The Falcons of Notre Dame College managed to get within two scores of the Cardinals, 5-3. WJU would extend its lead to as many as 13 goals after scoring the next 11 goals.
The first six goals of the 11-0 WJU run came at the end of the first half. Tufnell began the run with a pair of goals, while Hales added two more of her own. Hickman and Mary Burns tallied the remaining two Cardinals scores of the first half, and WJU took an 11-3 advantage into the break.
WJU continued its run, as it scored the first five goals of the second half. Burns struck for the first two goals before Hales scored for her fifth time on the day. Plesich added back-to-back scores to give WJU its 16-3 lead.
Hales would dish out her second assist of the game, her seventh point, as Olivia Krock completed WJU's scoring with 5:37 remaining. The Cardinals would go on to win, 17-6, over the Falcons.
Hales added four groundballs and two caused turnovers to her game total. Hickman finished with a pair of groundballs and one forced turnover.
Tufnell and Plesich both finished with four points. Both Cardinals scored three goals and handed out a helper apiece. Burns finished the game with three scores, a groundball, one caused turnover, and five draw controls.
Krock scored once, assisted on one goal, secured three groundballs, and caused two turnovers. Calder was responsible for the final Cardinals goal.
Markie Wright and Holly Deckert led the Cardinals defense with four groundballs and two caused turnovers each. Brianna Wahle and Lyndsay Carpenter added three groundballs each, while Carpenter forced a game-high four turnovers. Mia Gilardi picked up two groundballs. Maire Austin earned the victory, saving four shots in goal for WJU.
The Cardinals travel to Shepherd University on Sunday for a 1 p.m. contest.
