WHEELING, W.Va. (Feb. 8) – Sophomore forward Lilly Ritz (Cambridge, Ohio/Cambridge) tied the NCAA Women's Basketball single-game record with 36 rebounds to help the Cardinals pull out a 75-72 win over West Virginia State Saturday afternoon.
 
The Wheeling University women's basketball team improves to 8-8 in the Mountain East Conference (MEC) standings, 9-13 overall. Meanwhile, the Yellow Jackets drop to 8-14 overall, 6-9 in league play.
 
Ritz matched the record set by Christine DeSaine of West Virginia Tech against Ohio Valley back on January 30, 1995. She also had 23 points on 10-of-18 shooting and blocked six shots. The Cambridge native hauled in 13 of her record-tying 36 rebounds on the offensive glass.
 
West Virginia State led 71-70 with 1:44 left in the game. The two teams traded unsuccessful trips down the floor and Wheeling held the ball with 32 seconds on the clock. The Cardinals missed twice, but corralled the offensive board both times. Senior Lauren Lipscomb (Columbus, Ohio/Pickerington North) hit the glass and dished the ball to classmate Khira Burton (Cincinnati, Ohio/Walnut Hills), who drained the go-ahead trey to give the Cardinals a 73-71 lead.
 
The Yellow Jackets split free throws on their end, before Burton knocked down two on the other side to make the score 75-72. West Virginia State got off the potential game-tying shot, but senior Taliah Cashwell (South Charleston, W.Va./South Charleston) deflected the attempt and Ritz was there with 0.2 seconds on the clock to haul in the NCAA record-tying 36th rebound before time expired.
 
Burton finished with 13 points and had five assists, while Cashwell chipped in 12 points in the win.
 
Wheeling led 15-12 through the first quarter of the game. After the Yellow Jackets sliced the lead to one, the Cardinals went on a 14-4 run to build a 29-18 lead with 6:16 to play in the second quarter.
 
West Virginia State dominated the final six minutes of the first half. The Yellow Jackets out-scored Wheeling 22-6 and took a 40-35 lead into halftime. The Cardinals shot only 3-of-13 during the run and committed five turnovers, while surrendering the lead.
 
West Virginia State led 45-40 four minutes into the third quarter. A bucket by Ritz and treys by Cashwell and junior Kelsi Chapman (New Martinsville, W.Va./Magnolia) pushed the Cardinals out in front 48-47 a minute later, but the Yellow Jackets finished another period strong and took a 59-54 into the fourth quarter.
 
West Virginia State eventually built its lead to double-digits, 68-58, with 7:50 left in the game. The Cardinals responded with a 12-1 run over the next four minutes to reclaim the lead at 70-69 with 2:56 remaining on the clock, before completing the rally in the closing minutes.
 
Wheeling finished the game shooting 30-of-77 (39 percent), compared to the 29-of-85 (34 percent) posted by West Virginia State. The fast pace of the game generated tons of possessions for both teams.
 
The Cardinals out-rebounded the Yellow Jackets 58-to-49 in the game. 
 
Ritz entered the night ranked second in Division II with 14.6 rebounds per game.
 
Charity Shears led West Virginia State with 14 points in the loss.
 
The Cardinals will hit the road on Wednesday, February 12 for a MEC contest at Concord at 5:30 p.m.