WHEELING, W.Va. (Feb. 1) – In a matchup of two of the top front-court players in all of Division II, the Cardinals prevailed with a 69-60 win over Concord Monday evening inside the McDonough Center.
 
The win improves the Wheeling University women's basketball team to 5-2 this season. Meanwhile, the Mountain Lions drop to 4-4 overall.
 
Junior forward Lilly Ritz (Cambridge, Ohio/Cambridge), who was recently named the Mountain East Conference (MEC) Co-Player of the Week, posted a double-double of 25 points and 19 rebounds to lead the Cardinals to the win. She also led the team with four assists and three steals.
 
Concord's Riley Fitzwater finished with 21 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks. Fitzwater entered the night leading Division II with 5.4 blocks per game and ranking 13^th with 11.6 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, Ritz ranks 10^th in Division II with 22.2 points per game and leads the nation with 18.8 rebounds per game.
 
The Cardinals scored the game's first six points an took an 11-4 lead on a trey by freshman Shanley Woods (Wheeling, W.Va./Park) near the five-minute mark of the first quarter. 
 
Wheeling eventually built its lead to 10, 21-11, on a jumper by sophomore guard Emily Holzopfel (Rayland, Ohio/Buckeye Local) with a minute left in the opening period and took a 21-14 advantage into the first intermission.
 
Concord managed to slice its deficit down to 23-22 with 5:46 left in the first half, but the Cardinals maintained the lead. Wheeling rebuilt its edge to six and eventually held a 34-31 lead at halftime.
 
The Cardinals held the lead for the first seven minutes of the third quarter. Concord took its first lead of the game at 45-44 with 2:13 to play in the period. After trading baskets down the stretch, a shot near the horn allowed the Mountain Lions to hold a 49-48 lead entering the fourth quarter.
 
Concord led 57-54 with 6:54 to play in the game. Wheeling closed out the game on a 15-3 run and knocked down its final five free-throw attempts to seal the victory. The Cardinals held Fitzwater off the stat sheet during the final six minutes and limited Concord to 1-of-8 shooting with four turnovers.

Sophomore guard Maura Castelluci (Bridgeville, Pa./South Fayette) chipped in 10 points in the win.
 
Both teams left a lot of points on the free-throw line. Wheeling shot 17 of 26 (65 percent), while Concord was just 10 of 22 (46 percent) at the charity stripe.

Earlier in the day, Wheeling maintained its spot at No. 6 in the D2SIDA Atlantic Region Poll. The Cardinals have been ranked No. 6 each of the past three weeks.
 
The Cardinals will have a quick turnaround and travel on Wednesday, February 3 to Buckhannon, West Virginia to take on West Virginia Wesleyan at 5 p.m.