WJU Basketball Preview: Cards vs. Falcons

By: Michael McDonald, Assistant Sports Information Director

Women's Basketball | 1/30/2017 11:31:00 AM

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FAIRMONT, W.Va. - Wednesday evening marks one of the biggest double-headers on the 2016-17 Mountain East Conference schedule. Wheeling Jesuit travels to Fairmont State for what will be a matchup of the top-two preseason favorites on the women's side and a rematch of an early-season overtime contest between two highly ranked men's squads.

On November 30 in Wheeling, the Cardinal women prevailed over the Falcons, 53-48 in what would be a hard-fought defensive contest. Monica Burns provided the WJU offense with a surge, knocking in five of 10 attempts from three for a team-high 19 points. The Cardinals outrebounded the Falcons, 44-26.

WJU enters Wednesday night riding the momentum of a 74-48 win at Charleston Saturday afternoon. UC began the contest on a 11-2 run before WJU responded with an 18-0 run of their own, taking a 20-11 lead. The Cardinals led 36-18 at the half and would never look back. Burns scored her career best in her time at WJU, 24 points, on 8-16 shooting. Mariah Callen finished with a season best eight assists.

WJU is 2-1 in their past three games and 7-3 over the previous 10 contests. The Cardinals are 16-4 on the season, 11-3 in league play and 6-3 on the road. As a team, the Cardinals continue to rank second in scoring defense, allowing just 63.2 points per game. The Cardinals score an average of 73 points, ranking fourth in offensive scoring and second in scoring margin (+9.8).

Burns guides WJU with 15.9 points (7^th in MEC) and leads the MEC in free-throw percentage, shooting over 90 percent from the charity stripe. Mo has scored in double figures her last eight games and has crossed the 15-point mark in seven of these contests. Callen adds 13.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 4.8 assists, ranking 12^th in scoring and fifth in assists. Jaana Motton supplies 12.9 points and a league best 9.6 rebounds. Senior Kylie Frizell adds 8.8 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists on average.

Fairmont State enters the matchup with a 4-1 mark in their last five outings. The Fighting Falcons knocked off Virginia Wise, 82-71 on Saturday afternoon. On the year, Fairmont has started the same five players in all 20 contests. Amadna Ruffner, who is fourth in the conference in scoring, paces the Falcon offense with 16.5 points while hauling in 5.2 rebounds. Makenzie White adds 14.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and 4.4 assists, ranking eighth in scoring and rebounding and sixth in assists. Deidra Combs and Emily Puskarich chip in 14.6 and 13.4 points, respectively. As a club, the Falcons rank third in scoring offense (74.3), scoring defense (65.3), and scoring margin (9.0).

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Players Mentioned

#13 Monica Burns: G; 5' 6"; Redshirt Sophomore

#1 Mariah Callen: G; 5' 4"; Junior

#32 Kylie Frizell: G; 5' 10"; Senior

#42 Jaana Motton: F; 5' 11"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#13 Monica Burns
: 5' 6"; Redshirt Sophomore
: G

#1 Mariah Callen
: 5' 4"; Junior
: G

#32 Kylie Frizell
: 5' 10"; Senior
: G

#42 Jaana Motton
: 5' 11"; Senior
: F