Greensburg, PA. - The Wheeling University Women's Basketball team (1-0, 0-0) took the hardwood for the first time as they opened up the 2022-23 season. The offense started out strong and paced the Cardinals as they took down Lock Haven 73-43 in non-conference play. The Cardinals had two scorers with 20 points or more and scored 20 or more team points in two of the four quarters.

The Cardinals came out strong right out of the gate, putting up 24 points in the first 10 minutes of the game. The Cardinals would score the first four points of the game, courtesy of a Lauren Calhoun layup and a pair of free throws that made it a 4-0 game. Wheeling was able to extend that advantage to 9-2 with a Shanley Woods three-pointer as both players got their big nights going. Lock Haven scored just five points over that first five minutes as the Cardinals defense was stingy throughout the quarter, They would end up outscoring Lock Haven 24-7 in the quarter and controlled the game early on.

However, Lock Haven would answer back in the second quarter, basically flipping the script on the Cardinals. Calhoun once again started the scoring with a layup and a Woods three-pointer made it a 29-11 Cardinal's advantage. Woods would add another three-pointer and the Cardinals found themselves ahead 33-11 6:23 left before the half. However, Lock Haven wasn't don't as they scored the final nine points of the quarter to bring the score to 33-20 as the quarter came to a close. The Cardinals were ahead, but knew they still had work to do as they came out in the second half.

The Cardinals would end up coming out with the same fire power they had in the first quarter as Calhoun hit a two-pointer and Woods added a three-pointer as part of a 9-0 run to start the third quarter. Lock Haven responded with seven points of their own before Wheeling went on another 10-3 run to make it 52-30 with 3:29 left in the quarter. Wheeling would score a game-high 26 points during the quarter and extended their lead to 22 heading into the game's final 10 minutes. The Cardinals had a sizeable advantage heading into the final 10 minutes as Head Coach Anna Kowalska got to go to her bench players in the first game of the season.

Kimora Pooler would get the final 10 minutes started with a free throw and a jumper that made it 62-37. Carla Torrubia would add a layup before Bryana Henderson took the floor. Henderson would hit four free throws upon entering the game as the Cardinals upped their advantage to 68-39. Calhoun finished her night with a pair of free throws that made it 70-41 as the Cardinals looked to close out the remaining time. Henderson finished the night with a three-pointer and that brought the game to its final score of 73-43. It was a big win for the Cardinals to start the season and they look to keep it going as they finish the weekend on Sunday.

Shanley Woods got her season started strong, leading the Cardinals with 26 points, including six three-pointer on the night. Lauren Calhoun picked up right where she left off in 2021-22, picking up her first double-double of the season with a team high 20 points and 18 rebounds. Bryana Henderson rounded out the double digit scorers with 11 points on the day. The Cardinals were efficient from the floor, shooting 26-53, including a 9-19 from three. They rounded out the day going 12-20 from the Free throw line to round out their day. It was the first win in the career of Head Coach Anna KowalskA at Wheeling as they look to continue the success in day two of the tournament.

The Wheeling University Women's Basketball team plays day two of the Seton Hill Crossover Sunday when they battle Seton Hill at 3 PM. You can watch that game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.