BUCKHANNON, W.Va. (Feb. 3) – The Cardinals were defeated 74-54 at West Virginia Wesleyan Wednesday evening inside the Rockefeller Gymnasium.
 
The Wheeling University women's basketball team drops to 5-3 overall. Meanwhile, the Bobcats improve to 2-7 on the season.
 
Junior forward Lilly Ritz (Cambridge, Ohio/Cambridge), who was named the USBWA Division II Player of the Week on Tuesday, registered a double-double with 31 points and 11 rebounds. She has now established the fourth-longest double-double streak in Division II history with 23-straight dating back to last season.
 
The Cardinals trailed 6-4 with 6:24 to play in the first quarter. West Virginia Wesleyan went on to lead by as many as nine, before taking a 20-12 lead into the second quarter.
 
The Bobcats led 25-12 with 7:35 left in the first half when the Cardinals made a run. Wheeling went on to out-score Wesleyan 15-6 down the stretch and narrowed the gap down to four, 31-27, at halftime.
 
The Cardinals struggled from the field in the third quarter. Wheeling converted just 4-of-14 attempts and were out-scored 20-10 in the period. The Cardinals only got as close as 13 points in the fourth quarter.
 
The Cardinals were out-rebounded 47 to 38 and allowed the Bobcats to score 17 second-chance points.
 
West Virginia Wesleyan's Malaika Kimmons posted a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Bobcats.
 
The Cardinals will play again on Saturday, February 6 when they host Davis & Elkins at the McDonough Center in a contest at 2 p.m.