ERIE, Pa. (Dec. 17) – The Wheeling University women's basketball team rallied from a 13-point deficit, but were unable to pull through in a 69-63 loss at Gannon in a non-conference game Tuesday afternoon inside the Hamermill Center.
 
The Cardinals fall to 3-7 overall, while the Golden Knights improve to 6-3 on the season.

Freshman guard Emily Holzopfel (Rayland, Ohio/Buckeye Local) posted a season-high with 20 points on 6-of-12 shooting and added seven rebounds. Senior guard Taliah Cashwell (South Charleston, W.Va./South Charleston) added 15 points, while sophomore forward Lilly Ritz (Cambridge, Ohio/Cambridge) finished with 12 poitns and eight rebounds.
 
Wheeling made three of its first four shots to take a 7-2 lead through the first three minutes of the game. Gannon quickly erased that lead with a 15-2 run over the ensuing five minutes that made the score 17-9 with 1:46 left in the first quarter. The Cardinals went cold during the spurt and converted just one of their next nine attempts from the field.
 
Both teams locked down on defense in the second quarter. Neither team shot over 33 percent and both squads committed three turnovers, allowing Gannon to head into the locker rooms with a 34-24 lead at the half.
 
The Cardinals went on an 8-1 run to narrow the deficit to 35-32 and force a Golden Knight timeout. Gannon answered back with nine-unanswered points to rebuild its lead to 44-32 with 3:36 to play in the third quarter, before a pair of free throws by Holzopfel ended the drought.
 
The Holzopfel free throws kicked off a 12-6 run for the Cardinals, which including a basket-and-one by freshman forward Lauren Calhoun (Ravenna, Ohio/Ravanna), that managed to narrow the gap to 50-44 heading into the final period.
 
Wheeling picked up where they left off to open the fourth quarter. The Cardinals went on a 7-1 run to open the stanza and tie the game up at 51 with 7:17 to play in the game.
 
Gannon had an answer once again. The Golden Knights scored eight-unanswered over the next three minutes to take a 59-51 lead. Wheeling managed to get back within six on a Holzopfel trey, but the Cardinals were never able to get any closer and allowed Gannon to escape with the win.
 
Wheeling ended the afternoon shooting 20-of-57 (35 percent), compared to the 22-of-49 (45 percent) posted by the Golden Knights. 
 
The Cardinals defensively forced 19 Gannon turnovers, but the Golden Knights controlled play near the rim. Gannon out-rebounded Wheeling 35-to-28 and posted 10 blocked shots.
 
The morning-tip was played in-front of a local middle school.
 
Wheeling will close out the 2019 portion of its schedule Thursday, December 19 when they travel to Pepper Pike, Ohio to take on Ursuline at 5:30 p.m. in a non-conference game. The contest will also mark the final competition of any kind by a Wheeling University team this year and this decade.