Wheeling, W. Va. - The holiday season is behind us, and it is back to the hardwood for the Wheeling University Women's Basketball team (6-4, 4-2) as they continue their winter break non-conference schedule. They hit the road for their final game of the 2022 portion of their schedule on Thursday when they take on Salem University with tip-off at 2 PM. After dropping three straight tough contests, the Cardinals look to get back on track as they prepare for the 2023 stretch run towards the Mountain East Conference (MEC) playoffs. 

Before the winter break, the Cardinals battled Lake Erie in what was a hard-fought game that the Cardinals dropped 79-65. The Storm would take the early lead in the first, but Wheeling stayed right with them and finished the first quarter trailing 14-10. Both offenses came to play in the second quarter, with both teams scoring 20+ and the Cardinals went into halftime trailing 40-33. The Cardinals came out of the half to outscore Lake Erie 17-16, but it wasn't enough as a 23-point Storm fourth quarter was enough to close out the game. With the loss, the Cardinals dropped to 6-4 on the season as they continue to use a tough non-conference schedule to prepare for the rest of MEC play. 

The Cardinals got a spark off the bench in that game courtesy of freshman Fatima Mohammad, who put together the best game of her collegiate career so far. She scored a career-high 10 points in the game and was strong from three-point range, going 2-5 on the night. All 10 of her points came during the Cardinal's big 23-point second quarter as she hit a pair of layups and a pair of three-pointers to jumpstart the offense. Prior to that game, Mohammad's career-high was five points and she had made just one three-pointer. She looks to build off this strong game and continue to be a force off the bench for the Cardinals in 2023. 

The Cardinals also got another strong performance from senior Lauren Calhoun, who picked up her fifth double-double of the season with 16 points and 17 rebounds. It was tied for the second most rebounds in a game by Calhoun this season, with her season high sitting at 18 in the first game of the year. While she continues to average 18.5 points per game, Calhoun is also the conference's leading rebounder with 116 total rebounds and an average of 11.6 rebounds per game. Freshman Kenzie Dalton also continued her strong season, picking up her first career double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds, and was the closest she has come to a triple-double, finishing with seven assists on the night. 

With another week of non-conference action remaining before MEC play resumes, the Cardinals are looking to take advantage of these final two non-conference games. They are going up against a pair of strong teams that will help get them ready for their 2023 conference opener against #6 Glenville State. The Cardinals look to get some momentum back on their side as they currently sit one game behind the Pioneers for the top spot in the MEC. These final two non-conference games allow them to clean some things up before heading into that big matchup. 

The Matchup 

The Cardinals and Tigers are meeting for the 21st time in program history, with Wheeling winning each of the first 20 meetings between the two teams. The Cardinals are averaging 76.4 points per game in the all-time series but are meeting up with Salem for the first time since the 2012-2013 season, when both were members of the old West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Wheeling is 10-0 all-time against Salem in Salem, West Virginia and looks to keep that streak alive on Thursday. 

In their last meeting back on December 31st, 2012, the Cardinals would pick up a 77-61 win in what was the final game of the 2012 portion of that schedule. Former Cardinal Breanna Butler would lead the way with 19 points in that game, followed closely by former Cardinal Taneka Lewis with 18. The defensive game was led by former Cardinal Alex Anderson, who finished with six rebounds. 

The Details 

Tip-off for Thursday afternoon's game is scheduled for 2 PM inside the T. Edward Davis Gymnasium on the campus of Salem University. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.