WHEELING, W.Va. – After a consistent opening 20 minutes, the Cardinals were unable to close strong Monday night. Mercyhurst stormed past Wheeling Jesuit off a 14-point second-half turnaround and held on at the final shot for the 72-69 women's basketball victory.
Mariah Callen pulled the Cardinals to within a point, 70-69, with her fourth trey with 15 seconds left. After two Amber Renz free throws gave Mercyhurst a 3-point lead, 72-69, with 9.3 seconds, WJU came the length of the floor where Callen's potential game-tying 3-point attempt was partially blocked by Vivian Allison to end the contest.
The Cardinals backcourt of Monica Burns and Mariah Callen paced the home team with a combined 40 points. Burns hit for 21 points to go with four assists and three rebounds, while Callen downed four triples for 19 points and four boards.
Chenelle Moore added 16 points on 7 of 12 shooting, grabbed seven rebounds and swiped four balls.
Mercyhurst's Amber Renz and Vivian Allison came off the bench for 34 points. Renze netted 8 of her 15 attempts for 20 points, while Allison had all her 14 points in the second half.
The Lakers won the battle on the glass, 41-26, despite having nine more turnovers than the Cardinals, 17-8.
WJU started out solidly as it led by seven, 18-11, after the first 10 minutes on a Cassi Stein layup. The home advantage grew to as many as 10 points, 24-14, when Burns made an inside layup. Mercyhurst cut the margin down to as little as four points, before Lauren Lipscomb's mid-range jumper as time ran off made it 39-31 at intermission.
Following a Khira Burton jump in the lane gave the Cardinals (4-8) an 11-point lead, 47-36, midway through the third quarter, the Lakers (5-6) mounted their charge. Mercyhurst scored the next 14 points in 3:27 off the clock for its first lead since the game's opening bucket, 50-47. A Mariah Callen 3-pointer in the final seconds put WJU back on top by a point, 52-51, heading to the fourth, but the visitors netted the final quarter's first four points and never trailed again.
WJU has the next over a week off until it returns to action for the 2018 part of its schedule starting on Thursday, Jan. 4 in a 5:30 p.m. contest at Charleston.
-GoCards-
