Wheeling, W. Va. – The Wheeling University Women's Basketball team (4-1, 2-1) has been rolling ever since the start of the season. They have won each of their last three games and look to take that success on the road when they battle West Virginia Wesleyan on Saturday at 2 PM. The Cardinals are out to their best start to conference play since the COVID-shortened 2020-22 season and are looking to keep that success going on Saturday.

Last time out, the Cardinals were locked in a dog fight, but came out on top defeating Davis & Elkins 75-68. The Cardinals fell behind early in the game, trailing 13-4 through the first four minutes, but were able to battle back to trail 20-17 by the end of the first quarter. The back-and-forth battle continued throughout the second quarter, but a Shanley Woods three right before halftime sent Wheeling into the locker room up 38-35. The Cardinals would use that as momentum for the third quarter, adding 25 points and sitting ahead 63-48 with 10 to play. The Senators stayed alive, battling back to make it a seven-point game, but the Cardinals were able to hold on for their fourth win in five games 75-68 to move to 2-1 in Mountain East Conference (MEC) play.

Leading the charge for the offense was Woods, who was lethal from three-point range throughout the night. The junior finished 6-13 from beyond the arc, with all six of those coming in the first half. She was two threes away from tying the single game record and finished with a season-high 22 points on the night. She entered play as the fourth best three-point shooter in the conference and added a 46.1 shooting percentage from three last night. She was sitting just outside double-digit points per game last night, but with the effort she raised her average to 13.0 points per game, making her the second Cardinal to average in double figures this season.

The other is Lauren Calhoun who, after not picking up a double double for the first time all season against Alderson Broaddus, got back on track with 21 points and 17 rebounds for her fourth double double in five games. The senior was held to just four points during the first half, but came through with a big second half effort, where she scored 18 points and led the Cardinals during the 25-point third quarter. Freshman Kenzie Dalton continued her hot start to the season as well, flirting with a triple-double for the second game in a row. She finished with nine points, seven rebounds, and six assists, leading the team in the passing game. 

With the win, the Cardinals remain in the top half of the league, sitting in a four-way tie for third at 2-1 with West Virginia State, Glenville State, and Charleston. Two of the Cardinals' next three conference games come against two of those opponents as they will continue to get opportunities to raise their standing in the conference. Head Coach Anna Kowalska scheduled a tough preseason schedule for her team to prepare for this conference slate, and so far, those tough teams have paid off with Wheeling seeing success on the floor to start the season.

The Matchup