West Chester, PA. – The Wheeling University Women's Basketball team (0-1, 0-0) opened their season on Saturday on day one of the West Chester tournament. They took on Pennsylvania State Collegiate Athletic Association (PSAC)'s Wedt Chester and, despite a high-scoring second half they weren't able to battle back and fell 73-61.

Throughout the first half of the game, Wheeling struggled to get the offense going, scoring a total of 15 points between the two quarters. Despite all of that, Wheeling was able to battle in the second half thanks to the work of Shanley Woods and Lauren Calhoun. They scored 46 points throughout the second half and battled back to within 12 points by the end of the game. Woods started her sophomore season with an impressive 18-point performance while Calhoun earned the first double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 rebounds in her season opener.

Despite the low-scoring first half, Wheeling was on fire early in the game. They scored the first six points of the game on three straight jumpers, and found themselves ahead 6-0. However, the Golden Rams would quickly turn that lead into a deficit when they scored 22 straight points to open the game to 22-6. That was the score by the end of the first half, and Wheeling was looking for answers after their strong start to the game.As the second quarter began, Jacqui Hinesmon would work to get her team back in the game. Of the nine points scored in the quarter, Hinesmon was responsible for six of those points, and got the Cardinals to 15 points by the end of the second quarter.

West Chester would keep their offense going as well, and the teams would head in the locker room with the Cardinals trailing 32-15. During the second quarter, Wheeling shot just 33.32% from the floor, and did not make a three-pointer in the quarter. They needed to clean things up in the second half, and they were able to do just that. In the third and fourth quarters, the Cardinals would shoot 46.67% and 50% from the floor respectively. This led them to an impressive 46-point second half as they tried to overcome a 16-poont deficit.

Wheeling came out firing over the first seven minutes of the quarter, scoring 15 points. However, West Chester would continue to score as well, and led 50-33 with four minutes to go in the quarter. Wheeling would go on a 9-2 run at the end of the quarter that got them to within 10-points, cutting the score to 52-42 with 10 minutes to play. Throughout the fourth quarter, the West Chester lead would remain at 10 as every time Wheeling found the net, West Chester responded. The Cardinals were never able to eclipse the 10-point deficit mark, despite putting up 19 fourth-quarter points, and fell by the final score of 73-61.

It was a strong opening to the season for Wheeling, as they showed they can battle back when down early. They shot 33.3% from the floor, and finished the night with a 26.3% mark from beyond the arc. However, their best shooting of the night was done from the charity stripe. They were shooting 73.6% from the free throw line, and used it to their advantage. Calhoun picked up the team's first double-double of the season, and Woods showed she can be a prolific scorer from the team. With day two of the West Chester tournament looming, Wheeling will look to keep that offensive momentum from the second half as they get ready to play game two.

The Wheeling University Women's Basketball team is back in action on Sunday when they face Bloomsburg at 2 PM.