SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio (Jan. 10) – A late surge by Notre Dame (Ohio) helped it deal the Cardinals a 76-65 loss Sunday afternoon inside the Murphy Gymnasium.
 
The Wheeling University women's basketball team falls to 1-1 on the season. Meanwhile, the Falcons, picked second in the MEC Preseason Poll, improve to 2-0 overall.
 
Junior forward Lilly Ritz (Cambridge, Ohio/Cambridge) led the Cardinals with a double-double of 22 points and 10 rebounds, while adding four blocks. Freshman guard Shanley Woods (Wheeling, W.Va./Wheeling Park) added 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting from long range, while sophomore guard Emily Holzopfel (Rayland, Ohio/Buckeye Local) chipped in 11 in the loss.
 
The Cardinals hung with the Falcons early on and a Woods trey with 5:26 to play in the first quarter made the score 12-10. Notre Dame was in control for the second five minutes of the opening frame, closing the period out on a 13-4 spurt to take a 25-14 lead.
 
Wheeling trailed 29-16 one minute into the second quarter. The Cardinals rallied back with a 19-6 run over the next eight minutes to help the Cardinals tie the game up at 35-35 heading into halftime.
 
Notre Dame came out of the locker rooms and knocked down three-straight treys to quickly take a 44-35 lead. Wheeling managed to battle back once again and a bucket by Ritz in the closing seconds of the quarter helped draw the Cardinals back within two, 55-53, heading into the final quarter.
 
Wheeling trailed 65-61 after a basket by senior Tori Harrison (Centerville, Ohio/Centerville) with just under seven minutes left in the game. Notre Dame controlled the closing minutes of the contest, out-scoring the Cardinals 11-4 down the stretch to secure the win.
 
For the game, the Cardinals shot 24-of-46 (52 percent) from the field. The Falcons were 28-of-64 (44 percent), but converted 8-of-13 attempts (62 percent) in the fourth quarter to put the game away.
 
Notre Dame's Marina Adachi finished with 20 points, including a 6-of-10 showing from three-point range, to lead the Falcons.
 
The men's game versus Notre Dame was postponed to a later date after the Wheeling men's program paused all team activities due to COVID-19 protocols.

The Cardinals are back on the hardwood on Wednesday, January 13 when they travel to Maryland to take on Frostburg State. The game is slated to tip at 5:30 p.m.