South Euclid, OH. – Early on, things weren't looking good for the Wheeling University Women's Basketball team (3-10, 3-6) as they saw themselves down early on. However, the Cardinals were able to put it all together and battle back to pick up a big Mountain East Conference (MEC) win over Notre Dame College on Wednesday 72-66.

In the first quarter, the offense had some struggles getting going, as the Falcons took the early advantage. Notre Dame scored the first four points of the game, and after five minutes of play, it was 9-4 in favor of Notre Dame. Shanley Woods hit a big three-pointer to get Wheeling's offense back on track, and Lauren Calhoun added a layup to tie the score at 9-9. Woods was on fire from three-point range early in the game and kept Wheeling in the game despite the slow start. Notre Dame would end the first quarter on a 5-0 run over the final three and a half minutes of the quarter and led 14-9 after one quarter. Wheeling was taking their shots, but made just 21% of them in that first quarter, as the shots started falling, Wheeling got more confident.

Notre Dame started the second quarter scoring the first four points and extended their lead to 18-9. However, instead of letting the game get out of hand, Wheeling got a layup from Calhoun and went on a 6-0 run to bring the score to 18-15 and get right back into the game. It was becoming a game of runs as Notre Dame would put up eight straight points to make it a 10-point game before the Cardinals once again battled back. It was freshman Shamia Strayhorn leading the charge with seven points over the next three minutes as Wheeling made it a one-point game. Ally Ziegler finished the quarter with the final four points, but the Cardinals couldn't overcome Notre Dame and went into halftime down 31-30.

After putting up 21 points in the second quarter, the Wheeling offense came out hot once again in the third and didn't take long to take their first lead of the night. It was a total team effort as the Cardinals scored the first six points of the third quarter and took a 36-31 advantage. While the offense continued to score, it was the defense that shined in the quarter as Wheeling put together their best defensive quarter of the season. Wheeling held the Falcons to just seven points in the quarter and never gave up the lead once they took it. Lauren Calhoun ended the quarter scoring six of the final eight points, and Wheeling headed into the final 10 minutes of the game with a 49-38 lead.

Over the final 10 minutes of the game, Wheeling put together their best offensive effort of the night. Senior Alysa Edwards-Frick started the fourth quarter with a pair of free throws that gave them a 51-38 lead, their largest lead of the night. As the quarter went on, Wheeling was in bend don't break mode as they held the lead. The Falcons brought it back to a six-point game with two minutes to play. The Cardinals would have to get it done at the free-throw line, and Woods would clinch the game making her two free throws with under a minute to play. Ava Lickliter would make the final bucket of the game and Wheeling would go on to pick up a huge 72-66 MEC win.

Lauren Calhoun once again led the offense for Wheeling, picking up her fifth double-double of the season. She led the team with a season-high 26 points and 11 rebounds while making 61.1% of her shots from the floor. Wheeling had three shooters in double digits on the night, with Shamia Strayhorn (14) and Shanley Woods (13) each hitting the mark. Strayhorn also picked up a double-double on the day with 10 rebounds, and led the passing game with seven assists, just missing a triple-double. The win broke a five-game skid for the Cardinals and has them back on the right track on the heels of a big rivalry game and a stretch of seven games in 14 days.

The Wheeling University Women's Basketball team is back in action on Saturday when they go on the road to face West Liberty at 2 PM.