Wheeling, W. Va. - It was a battle inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center on Saturday afternoon as the Wheeling Women's basketball team (6-2, 4-2) hosted #22 Charleston. It was close through most of the game, but it was the Golden Eagles who would come out on top 64-50 over the Cardinals. It was Wheeling's first home loss of the season, but the offense proved they could battle back from a deficit, doing just that on several occasions.
It was a defensive battle through the first quarter of play, with both teams combining for just six points over five minutes of play. The Cardinals got the scoring started when
Lauren Calhoun hit a layup, but the Cardinals defense was stingy over the first few possessions. It took until the 5:51 mark before the Golden Eagles got on the board and the game was tied at 2-2. One more Golden Eagles shot was all that was scored before the media and, with 4:42 left in the quarter. However, Charleston made an adjustment during the timeout and would put up nine straight points to turn it into a 13-2 affair.
Carla Torrubia Cano hit a layup to break the run and the Cardinals would battle back to make it 16-8 by quarter's end.
Charleston would continue to put the ball in the net as the second quarter began, outscoring Wheeling 14-6 over the first four minutes to bring the score to 30-14.
Lauren Calhoun would hit another layup before the media timeout and Wheeling was looking to battle back in the game, being down by 14.
Shamia Strayhorn would get things going back the Cardinal's way, going 2-4 on her next four free throws and a
Fatima Mohammad three-pointer cut the Golden Eagle lead to nine. The Cardinal's defense was just as stingy as the beginning of the game, allowing just three Charleston points before the quarter ended. Mohammad would add another layup and the Cardinals would head into halftime trailing 33-25.
The third quarter started with Charleston getting on the board with a layup, but Wheeling began to scratch and claw their way back into the game. After allowing those two points, the Cardinals would go on to score seven straight and made it a 35-32 game with 7:49 showing in the third. Wheeling was able to keep it a two-point game over the next two minutes and a
Lauren Calhoun three-point play would bring the Cardinals to within one at 40-39. The Cardinals took their first lead of the second half at the 3:23 mark of the third with a pair of
Shanley Woods free throws that made it 41-40 Charleston would retake the lead on the next possession and we would head into the final ten minutes with Charleston leading 45-43.
Unfortunately for the Cardinals, Charleston came out on fire in the fourth quarter, scoring the first 13 points to turn it into a 58-43 affair with just 4:04 to play. The Cardinals would once again try to battle back in the game when
Kenzie Dalton hit a layup, but it would prove too little too late. The Cardinals scored seven points over those final four minutes, with Dalton, Calhoun, and Strayhorn all scoring in that time span, but the Cardinals would end up falling 64-50, taking their second conference loss of the season and the first on their home floor.
Leading the way for the Cardinals was senior
Lauren Calhoun, who tied her season-high with 26 points in the effort, while finishing with nine rebounds to lead the team. She was the lone double figure scorer on the day for the Cardinals, with
Shamia Strayhorn finishing behind her with eight points. Strayhorn had a big day from the free throw line, with six of her eight on the night coming from the charity stripe, where she finished 6-11. The Cardinal's passing game was led by a combination of Dalton and Strayhorn on the day, who finished with two assists each. With the conference portion of their 2022 schedule wrapped up, the Cardinals look to rebound as they head into non-conference action.
The Wheeling University Women's Basketball team returns to action on Sunday, December 18th, when they host #1 Grand Valley State with tip-off scheduled for 2 PM.
