WHEELING, W.Va. (Jan. 29) – A strong second half helped the Wheeling University women's basketball team surge past West Virginia Wesleyan 77-64 Wednesday night inside the McDonough Center.
 
The Cardinals notch consecutive wins for the second time this season and improve to 6-7 in the Mountain East Conference (MEC), 7-12 overall. Meanwhile, the Bobcats drop to 1-12 in league play, 3-16 overall this season.
 
Sophomore forward Lilly Ritz (Cambridge, Ohio/Cambridge) dropped her 14^th double-double of the season with 25 points on 12-of-16 (75 percent) with 19 rebounds (five offensive). Senior guard Khira Burton (Cincinnati, Ohio/Walnut Hills) finished with 23 points, while senior guard Taliah Cashwell (South Charleston, W.Va./South Charleston) added 13 in the win.
 
West Virginia Wesleyan held the lead early in the game, including an 11-6 advantage at the six-minute mark and a 17-10 lead with 3:34 to play in the first quarter. Wheeling rallied back with seven-straight points, including a trey by Cashwell in the final minute, to tie the game up at 17 after one quarter.
 
The Cardinals trailed 27-25 halfway through the second quarter after a bucket by freshman guard Maura Castelluci (Bridgeville, Pa./South Fayette). The Bobcats managed to close out the first half with the momentum, out-scoring Wheeling 9-5 down the stretch to take a 36-30 lead into the break.
 
After Wesleyan scored the first points of the second half, Wheeling notched 10-straight points to take a 40-38 lead three minutes into the third quarter to force a Bobcat timeout.

The Cardinals defensive pressure led to more easy buckets on their own end. Wheeling built its lead all the way to nine, 52-43, with 3:04 to play in the third quarter. West Virginia Wesleyan limited Wheeling to three points in the final three minutes and narrowed the gap to seven, 55-48, heading into the final period.
 
The Bobcats cut the Cardinal lead all the way down to three, 55-52, with 7:54 left in the contest. The Cardinals answered with full-court pressure and eight-straight points to rebuild the lead to 63-52 and force a Wesleyan timeout with 6:36 to play in game.
 
West Virginia Wesleyan managed to draw back within five, 67-62, before a trey by Burton rebuilt the Wheeling lead to eight with two minutes left on the clock. The Cardinals knocked down their free throws to close out the game and secure the victory.
 
The Cardinals out-scored the Bobcats 47-28 in the second half on its way to the win. Wheeling made 11-of-17 (65 percent) of its shots in a 25-point third quarter.
 
Wheeling also out-rebounded West Virginia Wesleyan 44-to-35 on the night.
 
Courtney Wilfong paced the Bobcats with 21 points in the loss.
 
The Cardinals will look to push their winning-streak to three games when it welcomes Davis & Elkins on Saturday, February 1 to the McDonough Center at 2 p.m.