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18 wbb mec 1/4 header
Sam Santilli
60
WJU WJU 12-17
73
Winner WVSU WVSU 14-15
WJU WJU
12-17
60
Final
73
WVSU WVSU
14-15
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
WJU WJU 9 12 17 22 60
WVSU WVSU 10 23 22 18 73

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | | Chris Myers

Cardinals Tough Shooting Day Spells Short MEC Run

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – It was a bad time to have a tough shooting day. Wheeling Jesuit could not catch lightning in a bottle for a third year as its toughest shooting day of the year put it on the wrong side of a 73-60 loss to West Virginia State in the Mountain East Conference Quarterfinals on Thursday afternoon.
 
Trailing by only a point, 10-9, after the first quarter, the Cardinals (12-17) went the first 4:40 of the third quarter without bucket as the Yellow Jackets (14-15) went on a 12-1 run. West Virginia State increased a 12-point intermission advantage with seven of the first nine points of the third quarter and made the WJU deficit too big to be dug out of in the final more than 10 minutes of play.
 
"We are disappointed as we don't like to lose. I am disappointed with our shooting as we haven't shot like that all year and we missed a lot of open shots, which became deflating," said WJU head coach Debbie Buff. "We have never shot that bad, but you have those type of games as they just happen (some days)."
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Chenelle Moore receives her All-MEC 1st Team plaque

 
Unfortunately, the loss spelled the final time senior point guard Mariah Callen donned a Cardinals jersey. The four-year stalwart contributed 12 points to go with three rebounds, five assists and four steals. In her career, Callen finished with 1,461 points, 405 rebounds and 439 assists over 123 games.
 
"It's been great. I can't ask for a better experience," told Callen after the game. "We have been here (at the MEC Tournament) every year and won two back-to-back championships. We accomplished a lot and can't be upset about it."
 
Buff on her lone senior, "There have only been two seniors in my career I have cried about them playing their last games and Mariah is one of them. Mariah has been such a fighter in the program. She believed we could win when no one else did. She was the quarterback of two championships and she had a lot to do with them. She is a great player on the court and one of the best people off the court."
 
After being held scoreless into the third quarter, Monica Burns added another accomplishment on the tough day. The redshirt junior downed her second 3-pointer with 1:45 left in the game to eclipse the 1,000-point plateau in only two seasons. Burns dropped one last pair of free throws before the final horn to give her 12 points and 1,002 for her two years with the program.
 
Cassi Stein actually led the Cardinals with 13 points along with four rebounds and two blocks. Lauren Lipscomb chipped in 10 points and seven rebounds with Kiara Wade banking home eight points and grabbing four boards.
In the tough day from the floor, the WJU numbers point out the difficulty of putting the ball through the Charleston Civic Center buckets as the team made only 20 of 73 attempts, including just 7 of 38 in the opening 20 minutes. The Cardinals did force 25 Yellow Jackets turnovers, but the cold shooting could not be offset.
 
Aurreshae Hines led all scorers with 20 points for West Virginia State.

 
-GoCards-
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