BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. (March 2) – Wheeling University women's basketball sophomore forward
Lilly Ritz (Cambridge, Ohio/Cambridge) was named First-Team All-Mountain East Conference (MEC) by a vote of the league's coaches announced the league office Monday.
Ritz, who is in her first season with the Cardinals after transferring from California University of Pennsylvania, led Wheeling in nearly every statistical category this season. She ranks 13
th in Division II and third in the MEC with 21.4 points and leads the nation with 15.5 rebounds per game. An all-around player, Ritz also ranks 28
th in Division II and second in the league with 2.07 blocked shots per game, as well as 45
th nationally and second in the MEC with 2.5 steals per game.
The Cambridge, Ohio native posted 23 double doubles, the third most in Division II, and has made 59.9 percent of her field goal attempts to slot 10
th nationally and third in the MEC.
Ritz caught the attention of the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) earlier this season when she tied the NCAA Division II Women's Basketball single-game record with 36 rebounds to help the Cardinals pull out a 75-72 win over West Virginia State. That performance garnered her the organization's Division II Player of the Week honors.
During that week, Ritz averaged 28.0 points, 28.5 rebounds, 4.5 blocks and 2.0 assists per game, while shooting 61 percent from the field.
Ritz and the rest of the Cardinals (10-18, 9-13 MEC) will open play in the MEC Tournament on Wednesday, March 4 at noon against Davis & Elkins inside the WesBanco Arena in downtown Wheeling.
