WHEELING, W.Va. (Feb. 15) – The Wheeling University women's basketball team was defeated 121-89 by Mountain East Conference (MEC) front-runner Glenville State Saturday afternoon at the McDonough Center.
 
The Cardinals drop to 8-10 in the league standings, 9-15 overall. Meanwhile, the Pioneers improve to a MEC-best 15-2, 20-4 overall.
 
Sophomore forward Lilly Ritz (Cambridge, Ohio/Cambridge) registered her 18^th double-double of the season with 30 points and 11 rebounds. She also chipped in six steals and a pair of blocks in the loss. 
 
Senior guards Khira Burton (Cincinnati, Ohio/Walnut Hills) and Taliah Cashwell (South Charleston,  W.Va./South Charleston) both turned in fine performances with 21 and 20 points, respectively.
 
Despite struggling to handle pressure early, Wheeling found itself only trailing 10-8 following a Cashwell jumper at the 5:35-mark of the opening period. The Cardinals began to handle the pressure, but the Pioneers shooters got into rhythm as well. Glenville State out-scored Wheeling 22-12, including a quartet of three-point shots, to take a 32-20 lead into the first intermission.
 
Glenville State pushed its lead to 16, 44-28, at the six-minute mark of the second quarter. Baskets by Cashwell and junior guard Kelsi Chapman (New Martinsville, W.Va./Magnolia) clawed the Cardinals back to within 11, 46-35, but a 10-2 run to close out the half gave Glenville State a 56-37 lead at halftime.
 
The Pioneers pushed their lead to more than 20 early in the second half and enjoyed that cushion for the remainder of the contest. Ritz recorded consecutive easy layups at the rim with 6:08 left in the game to pull Wheeling within 20, 99-79, but the Pioneers never allowed the Cardinals to get any closer.
 
Glenville State's tempo gave Wheeling problems and led to 26 turnovers and 33 points off of those turnovers. The Cardinals did manage to create 20 takeaways of their own, but only converted 14 points off of them.
 
The Pioneers shot 45-of-81 (57 percent) as a team, compared to the 35-of-71 (49 percent) posted by the Cardinals.

Wheeling lost for only the third time this season when shooting over 44 percent from the field. Two of those losses have been to Glenville State.
 
Five Pioneers scored in double figures, including Re'Shawna Stone's game-high 30 points.
 
Prior to the game, Wheeling honored its three seniors, Burton, Cashwell and forward Lauren Lipscomb (Columbus, Ohio/Pickerington North) for their contributions to the program.
 
The Cardinals have a pivotal MEC contest on Wednesday, February 19 when they host Fairmont State (12-12, 9-9 MEC) for a tip at 5:30 p.m.