WHEELING, W.Va. (Nov. 26) – The Wheeling University women's basketball team was defeated 72-66 by Urbana Tuesday afternoon in a Mountain East Conference (MEC) game inside the McDonough Center.
 
The Cardinals drop to 1-4 overall, 0-2 in the MEC. Meanwhile, the Blue Knights continue their strong start at 2-0 in league play, 5-2 overall.
 
Sophomore forward Lilly Ritz (Cambridge, Ohio/Cambridge) posted a double-double with 17 points and 21 rebounds (10 offensive) while playing all 40 minutes.
 
Senior guard Khira Burton (Cincinnati, Ohio/Walnut Hills) finished with 15 points, while junior Kelsi Chapman (New Martinsville, W.Va./Magnolia) added 12 points off of the bench.
 
Wheeling scored the first two buckets of the game, but Urbana answered back with 15-5 run to take a 15-9 lead with 3:15 left in the first quarter. A Chapman trey in the final 30 seconds of the quarter helped the Cardinals slice the lead down to five, 18-13, heading into the second period.
 
Urbana rebuilt its lead to eight, 30-22, by the 3:46-mark of the second quarter. Although Wheeling converted back-to-back three pointers by Chapman to cut the lead down to two, 30-28, the Blue Knights managed to close the half out strong and take a 37-30 lead into the break.
 
Urbana led by as many as nine in the third quarter and took a 54-46 advantage into the fourth quarter. The Blue Knights went ahead 58-48 with nine minutes left in the game when the Cardinals went on a 11-2 run to pull within one at 60-59 with 3:20 left in the contest.
 
Wheeling hovered around a four-point deficit for the next three minutes, before a Ritz put-back layup made the score 68-66 with six seconds on the clock. Urbana knocked down a pair of free throws on the other end and stole the in-bounds pass for a basket at the buzzer to collect the six-point win.
 
The Cardinals held a 51-41 advantage on the glass and finished with 24 second-chance points.
 
Urbana's Sylvia Hudson finished with 24 points and nine rebounds to lead the Blue Knights.
 
Wheeling will have the week off for the holiday, before traveling to Elkins, West Virginia on Wednesday, December 4 for a MEC contest at Davis & Elkins. The game, which was moved to Elkins due to the upcoming NCAA Volleyball Atlantic Regional at Wheeling, will tip at 5:30 p.m.