Wheeling, W. Va. - After a long off-season full of change, the Wheeling University Women's Basketball team is ready to tip off the season this weekend at the West Chester Tournament. They begin the weekend taking on West Chester on Saturday at 6 PM and follow it up with a match-up with Bloomsburg on Sunday at 2 PM.
Both teams will offer a challenge for a younger Cardinals' team, but Head Coach Matt Schmidt welcomes the challenge. He is hoping to see some consistency from his players as they begin the 2021-2022 season.
"I think the number one thing we are looking for this weekend is consistent play," said Schmidt. "The young ladies know what my expectations are from the offensive side and the defensive side and being consistent with what we do. We need to worry about us daily and what we do on the floor."
As they get ready to begin the season, two veterans who will look to provide leadership for this year's team are juniors Maura Castelluci and Emily Holzopfel. Both played a big part in the offense last year and with the subtraction of last year's leading scorer, both will look to fill her shoes. Castelluci was the team's second-leading scorer last season, putting up 159 points and averaging 9.4 points per game. She was one of the Cardinals' most consistent three-point shooters, shooting just under 32% from beyond the arc.
Holzopfel finished right behind Castelluci with 156 points on the season and tied with her with 56 field goals each. She shot 41.5% from the floor and just over 31% from beyond the arc. Defensively, Holzopfel grabbed the second-most rebounds on the team, with 63 total, 47 defensively, and 16 offensively. She will look to play strong on both sides of the floor and step up in her new role. However, these veterans will have a new cast of characters to lead as Wheeling welcomes a class of six freshmen who are hoping to make an immediate impact.
After playing in two separate divisions last season, the Mountain East Conference (MEC) is returning to a one-conference format during the 2021-2022 season. Wheeling finished ninth in the annual MEC Preseason Poll after finishing the COVID shortened season 9-9 overall and 8-8 in conference play. They are hoping to earn a trip to the MEC playoffs for the second year in a row after making the MEC Semifinals last season.
They opened their postseason play with a thrilling 77-72 overtime win over Concord to advance to the semifinal round against The University of Charleston at WesBanco Arena. That is where their run would come to an end, as they fell 71-55 to the Golden Eagles. Wheeling needs to be one of the top 10 teams in the conference to make the tournament, and they are hoping to surprise some people from the preseason poll.
The Matchups
West Chester: The Cardinals and Rams have faced each other twice in the team's history but haven't seen each other since the 2016-2017 season. Wheeling has gone 2-0 against West Chester and won the last meeting in West Chester 83-69. Former Cardinal Monica Burns led the scoring with 21 points in the game while Mariah Callen added 14 points of her own in the win. This is the first match-up between the teams in five years, and Wheeling looks to stay successful.
Bloomsburg: Sunday will mark the first-ever matchup between the Cardinals and Huskies. Bloomsburg did not compete last year, due to COVID restrictions, and in their last full season of competition, they went 14-14 with a conference record of 10-12. They are a member of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference and open the weekend taking on Glenville State on Saturday.
The Details
Tip-off for Saturday's season-opener against West Chester is scheduled for 6 PM, and Saturday's tip-off is scheduled for 2 PM. You can watch Saturday's game live HERE or follow along with Live Stats HERE, and watch Sunday's game live HERE or follow along with Live Stats HERE.
