Wheeling, W. Va. – Heading into Monday night's Mountain East Conference (MEC) matchup against The University of Charleston, the Wheeling University Women's Basketball team (2-7, 2-4) had momentum on their side. They had just battled to overtime with the team that is now ranked sixth in the Atlantic Region and were hoping to bring that momentum on the road. However, the offense didn't end up coming with them as they fell 94-46.
It was another big day for junior Lauren Calhoun, but her 21-point effort wasn't enough for the Cardinal offense to keep up with the Golden Eagles. It was the third straight game that Calhoun has scored 20 or more points, and she has now scored 64 points in her last three games and has been a bright spot for the Cardinals. However, she accounted for almost half of her team's offense and was the only Cardinal to finish the day in double digits. Shots just weren't falling throughout the night for Wheeling as they shot 29.1% from the floor and 14.7% from beyond the arc. Freshman Shamia Strayhorn finished second on the team with six points and junior Jacqui Hinesmon added four points in the effort.
Despite the final score, it was the Cardinals that got on the board first when Calhoun made a layup that got them ahead 2-0. The Golden Eagles responded with five straight points and held a 5-2 lead, a lead that they would hold for the rest of the game. However, through the first six minutes of the game, Wheeling was hanging around with the University of Charleston, keeping the lead at three points with two separate rallies. Both runs were started by Calhoun, as she dumped two buckets to make the score 8-5 and then added two free throws that put the score at 10-7. Calhoun scored the first seven points of the game for the Cardinals and accounted for all but six of the first-quarter points. Strayhorn and Shanley Woods hit a bucket and a three-pointer at the end of the quarter and Wheeling trailed 21-13 after one.
Junior Maura Castellucci got the scoring started in the second quarter with her first three-pointer of the night that made the score 31-16. That three-pointer started an 8-0 run that saw Haley Cox, Hinesmon, and Calhoun all contributing. the score sat at 34-23 as Wheeling cut the lead to 11 before the Golden Eagles got going again. The University of Charleston ended the half with seven straight points and went into the half leading Wheeling 41-23. Wheeling scored 13 first-half points and followed that up with 10 second-half points as they tried to get the offense going. Unfortunately, they were only shooting just 27% from the floor and 16.6% from beyond the arc. However, they were getting it done from the line, shooting 71.4%, and were looking to translate some of that success to the floor.
However, the Golden Eagles came out hot again in the second half, scoring 20 of the first 22 points of the third quarter. The Cardinals would then get going, and put together their biggest offensive quarter of the game. The run was started by a Strayhorn bucket and then a Castelluci three-pointer got the run going. They would outscore the Golden Eagles 12-11 over the final four minutes of the quarter. Strayhorn led the way with six of the 12 points during the run and helped Wheeling put up 14 points in the quarter. It was their highest total of the game, and that brought the score to 72-37 with 10 minutes to play. Over the final ten minutes, Wheeling got a chance to use some of their bench and get them experience against a tough conference opponent.
Even with the bench coming in, Calhoun was still the leader for the Cardinals, finishing her night with seven fourth-quarter points. She was responsible for all but two of the Cardinals' points in the quarter as she finished her third consecutive 20-point performance. The other two points came courtesy of freshman Macyla Collins, who notched the first two points of her collegiate career. She came to the free-throw line with a minute left in the game after grabbing a rebound and drawing a foul. Collins nailed both of her free throws and brought the game to its eventual final score of 94-46. Wheeling now drops to 2-4 in Mountain East Conference play as they wrap up the 2021 portion of their conference schedule.
The Wheeling University Women's Basketball team plays one final game in 2021 when they host Gannon University in non-conference play on December 31st at 2 pm.
