FAIRMONT, W.Va. (Jan. 18) - The Wheeling University women's basketball team out-scored Fairmont State by 11 points in the fourth quarter, but came up short in a 71-66 setback Saturday afternoon inside the Joe Retton Arena.

The loss drops the Cardinals record to 5-11 this season and 4-6 in Mountain East Conference (MEC) play. Meanwhile, the Falcons improve to 9-7 overall and 6-4 against league foes.

Sophomore forward Lilly Ritz (Cambridge, Ohio/Cambridge) established a new season-high with 35 points on 15-of-18 (83 percent) shooting to go with 14 rebounds in the loss.

Fairmont State posted an impressive first quarter. The Falcons shot 55.6 percent from the field and out-rebounded Wheeling 12-to-6, en route to a 23-15 lead after 10 minutes.

The Cardinals managed to slice the lead down to five, 31-26, on a basket by freshman guard Emily Holzopfel (Rayland, Ohio/Buckeye Local) with 4:48 left until halftime. Fairmont State did not allow Wheeling to get any closer in the half and stretched its lead to as many as 13 points, before taking a 41-31 lead into the break.

Fairmont State extended its lead to 18 points with a 12-6 run over the first five minutes of the third quarter and went on to enjoy a 61-45 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Wheeling had one of its best quarters of the season in the final stanza. The Cardinals' stingy defense limited the Falcons to 3-of-16 (19 percent) from the field and fueled the Wheeling rally. Ritz led the charge with 16 of the team's 21 points in the quarter and helped ignite a 19-8 run that brought the deficit to three, 67-64, with just over a minute left in the game.

Unfortunately, the Cardinals were unable to get any stops on the defensive end in the final minute and Fairmont State knocked down a pair of free throws to fend off the upstart Cardinals.

Wheeling ended the afternoon shooting 28-of-69 (41 percent), while Fairmont State was 23-of-59 (39 percent) from the field.

A poor free-throw shooting performance didn't help the Cardinals cause. The team only converted 8-of-14 (57 percent) from the line, compared to a 17-of-20 (85 percent) showing for the Falcons.

The Cardinals will look to rebound when they travel to South Euclid, Ohio to take on Notre Dame College in a conference matchup on Wednesday, January 22 at 5:30 p.m.