WJU Basketball – Weekly Preview – Cards Welcome Falcons Thursday, ‘Toppers Saturday

By: Michael McDonald, Assistant Sports Information Director

Kelly Klubert

Men's Basketball | 2/21/2017 11:37:00 AM

WHEELING, W.Va. - The Cardinal basketball teams complete their 2016-17 regular seasons with two home contests this week.

On Thursday, Feb. 23, the Notre Dame College Falcons venture into the McDonough Center to battle the Wheeling Jesuit Cardinals.

Saturday marks the biggest home game of the season for the Wheeling Jesuit basketball teams, as the Cardinals welcome the West Liberty Hilltoppers into the Birdcage. Both WJU teams also will be honoring the careers of nine seniors who are members of the men's and women's team.

For ticket information regarding Saturdays doubleheader against West Liberty, please visit the following link: Ticket Sales

Heading into the final week of regular season action, the WJU women share a tie for first place with Glenville State while the Cardinal men are in third place in the Mountain East Conference.

Thursday's game notes:

Coach Buff and Lydia Hyburg joined Coaches Corner Monday morning.

Women:
On Saturday, the WJU women flew to an early lead at West Virginia Wesleyan, 25-9 after the first quarter, and later cruised to victory. Mariah Callen and Jaana Motton finished with 19 points apiece while Chenelle Moore scored 15.

The Notre Dame women enter Thursday's contest on a six-game win streak, including wins over third place Virginia Wise and fourth place Fairmont State. During the win streak, the Falcons have scored 70 or more points five times, while the WJU defense continues to lead the league in defensive scoring, allowing just 61.8 points on average, which leads the MEC.

In the season's first meeting in South Euclid, Ohio, WJU maintained a steady lead and would claim the win by a 10-point margin. Callen scored 19 points and Chelsea Richardson added 15. Kim Cook led the Falcons with 13 points.

Men:

Coach Danny Sancomb joined us Monday on Coaches Corner.

The Cardinal men enter Thursday looking to collect their second straight win. WJU completed its four-game road stretch win a Saturday victory at West Virginia Wesleyan, 85-67. The Cardinals sprung to a 20-point first half lead and would never look back. Six Cardinals finished in double figures led by Haywood Highsmith's 17 points and seven boards. Kyle Ritz added 16 points while Pat Moseh chipped in 14.

The Falcon men enter Thursday losing four of their last five games. Notre Dame's last win came over Virginia Wise on Feb. 16. In the Nov. 21st meeting, WJU outscored Notre Dame by seven down the stretch to solidify its nine-point margin, 83-74. Senior guard Chase Lawson buried five of 10 attempts from three for a team-high 18 points in the victory. Pat Moseh and Preston Boswell added 16 and 15 points, respectively. Kyauta Taylor led Notre Dame with 21 points in the loss.

Saturday's game notes:
Women:
The Hilltopper women enter the week dropping five of their last six games. West Liberty last won on Feb. 16 at West Virginia Wesleyan. In the Jan. 19^th meeting with the Cardinals, West Liberty shot its way past WJU, 79-72, behind McKenna Shives' 28 points. Monica Burns led the Cardinals with 19 points while Jaana Motton added 16 points and 10 rebounds.

Men:
The West Liberty men enter the final week of the regular season riding a three-game win streak with its last loss coming on Feb. 9 at Concord. In the season's first meeting with the Cardinals, West Liberty prevailed in the double-overtime thriller, 96-90. Dan Monterosso and David Dennis each added 17 points for the 'Toppers while freshman Preston Boswell scored a game-high 21 points for the Cardinals. A Wheeling Jesuit victory Saturday afternoon would mark the third consecutive season that the clubs split the season series, one apiece.

WJU women's basketball stat leaders:
Sophomore guard Monica Burns leads WJU with 16.1 points per game. Burns has scored in double figures in all but six games, while reaching the 20-point mark in 12 different games. The New Stanton, Pennsylvania native also leads the MEC in free throw percentage (93.2%) and three-point percentage (40.9%). Mariah Callen ranks second in three-point percentage (39.8%) while adding 13.5 points, 4.8 assists and 3.0 rebounds on average. Jaana Motton contributes 12.9 points and 9.8 rebounds for WJU, and has charted an MEC-best 11 double-doubles on the season. Moore comes off a 15-point effort and now averages 10.8 points and 5.2 rebounds per outing.

WJU men's basketball stat leaders:
Junior forward Pat Moseh leads WJU with 15.9 points while shooting 49 percent from the field. Moseh also adds 5.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game. Fellow junior Haywood Highsmith is one of four players in the MEC averaging a double-double, chipping in 14.2 points and 10.9 rebounds on average, second most in the MEC. Preston Boswell, a freshman guard from New Martinsville, West Virginia, gives WJU 13.8 points on average while Kyle Ritz supplies 12.7 points and 7.9 rebounds per night.

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