WHEELING, W.Va. (Nov. 23) – Despite a halftime lead, the Wheeling University women's basketball team was defeated 82-68 by Notre Dame (Ohio) Saturday afternoon in the teams Mountain East Conference (MEC) opener inside the McDonough Center.
 
The Cardinals drop to 1-3 overall, 0-1 in the MEC. Meanwhile, the Falcons improve to 1-0 in league play, 5-1 overall.
 
Sophomore forward Lilly Ritz (Cambridge, Ohio/Cambridge) registered a double-double with 19 points and 14 rebounds (five offensive). She added three steals and two blocked shots to fill up her stat sheet. Senior guard Khira Burton (Cincinnati, Ohio/Walnut Hills) also finished with 19 points and dished out seven assists in the loss, while senior guard Taliah Cashwell (South Charleston, W.Va./South Charleston) added 12 points.
 
Wheeling got off to a good start and opened up an 11-4 lead on a basket-and-one by Ritz with 5:25 to play in the opening quarter. The Cardinals led by as many as 10, 18-8, but eight-straight points in the final two minutes of the period trimmed the Wheeling lead to 18-16 at the end of the first quarter.
 
Ritz and Burton helped the Cardinals rebuild their lead to eight, 24-16, less than three minutes into the second quarter. Notre Dame out-scored Wheeling 14-4 over the next six minutes to take its first lead of the afternoon at 30-28 with 2:25 to play until halftime. The lead changed hands a few more times, before a basket by freshman Jacqui Hinemon (Cincinnati, Ohio/Princeton) in the final 20 seconds sent the Cardinals into the locker room with a 37-35 lead.
 
The Falcons took command of the game in the third quarter and out-scored Wheeling 23-9 to take a 57-46 lead into the final 10 minutes. 
 
The Cardinals clawed back to within six, 70-64, with 3:21 left in the game on a Burton jump shot, but Notre Dame denied Wheeling a comeback bid. The Falcons out-scored the Cardinals 12-4 down the stretch to secure the win.
 
Wheeling shot 30-of-73 from the field (41 percent), but were only 3-of-20 (15 percent) from long range. Notre Dame ended the day shooting 29-of-57 (51 percent) and converted 6-of-13 (46 percent) from three-point range.
 
Three players scored in double-figures for the Falcons, including 19 from guard Seina Adachi.
 
Wheeling returns to the hardwood on Tuesday, November 26 when it hosts Urbana in a MEC game at 5:30 p.m.