INSTITUTE, W.Va. (Jan. 30) – Led by a 28-point, 30-rebound performance by junior Lilly Ritz (Cambridge, Ohio/Cambridge), the Cardinals managed to hold off a late surge to earn a 104-99 win at West Virginia State Saturday afternoon.
 
The Wheeling University women's basketball team improves to 4-2 this season. Meanwhile, the Yellow Jackets drop to 4-4 overall.
 
Ritz made 11 of 17 attempts from the field and hauled in 27 of her season-high 30 rebounds on the defensive glass. According to the NCAA Record Book, Ritz is the first player in Division II history to notch multiple games with 30 rebounds or more. She matched a NCAA Division II single-game record with 36 rebounds in a win over West Virginia State last season. Her 30-rebound performance at West Virginia State is tied for 11^th-best in Division II history.
 
Ritz also added five assists and four blocks to her final line. She has registered a double-double in 21-straight games dating back to last season.
 
Four other Cardinals scored in double-figures, including a season-high 22 points from freshman guard Shanley Woods (Wheeling, W.Va./Park). Woods converted 6-of-9 attempts from beyond-the-arc.
 
Sophomore Maura Castelluci (Bridgeville, Pa./South Fayette), sophomore Lauren Calhoun (Ravenna, Ohio/Ravenna), and freshman Haley Cox (Grove City, Ohio/Central Crossing) each scored 11 points in the win.
 
Wheeling trailed 13-9 four minutes into the game. The Cardinals answered with a 10-2 run, capped off by a Woods trey, to take a 19-15 lead with 4:34 to play in the first quarter. Wheeling stayed on top for the remainder of the quarter and took a 25-21 lead into the first intermission.
 
A basket-and-one in the opening minute of the second quarter by senior guard Kelsi Chapman (New Martinsville, W.Va./Magnolia) pushed the lead to 28-21. West Virginia State responded with a 17-7 spurt to take a 36-35 lead with 5:50 to play until halftime. Both teams traded the lead multiple times, before the Cardinals managed to close the quarter out on a 10-2 run to take a 55-48 lead into halftime.
 
The Cardinals appeared to put the game away in the third quarter. Wheeling out-scored the Yellow Jackets 29-to-18 and lead by as many as 19 points, before taking an 84-66 lead at the end of the third quarter.
 
West Virginia State chipped away at the deficit and eventually took a 99-98 lead with 51 seconds left in the game. On the next possession, Woods took a pass on the wing and drained a three pointer to give the Cardinals the lead back at 101-99.
 
West Virginia State looked to take the lead back, but a steal by Ritz and a pair of free throws on the other end helped seal the victory for Wheeling late. 
 
The Cardinals made 34 of 64 (53 percent) from the field and 7-of-16 from three-point range. West Virginia State ended the day shooting 33-of-98 (34 percent) and made only 11 of 56 attempts from long range.
 
A total of 61 personal fouls were called, resulting in over 70 free throws. Wheeling converted 29 of 41 (71 percent), while West Virginia State was 22 of 31 (71 percent).
 
The Yellow Jackets were led by an 18-point performance by Kalia Cunningham.
 
The 104 points scored by the Cardinals was the most points scored in a single-game and the first time Wheeling eclipsed the century-mark since a 104-34 win over the University of the Virgin Islands on December 16, 2004 on the island of St. Croix.

Wheeling returns to the McDonough Center on Monday, February 1 to host Concord in a make-up from a previously postponed contest at 5 p.m.