Institute, W. Va. – The Wheeling University Women's Basketball team (7-1, 4-1) faced their toughest task of the season to this point on Wednesday when they took on the #5 team in the Atlantic Region in West Virginia State. The Cardinals came ready to play and picked up their fourth straight victory as they took down the Yellow Jackets 91-77. Leading the way was junior Carla Torrubia Cano, who had a breakout night scoring a career-high in points and shooting 75% from the floor.

Cano played 28 minutes on the night and made the most of her opportunities, scoring 26 points to lead the way. She did a lot of her work under the net, shooting 12-16 from the field and 2-3 from the free throw line. The freshman flirted with her first career double-double, finishing with nine rebounds, and was almost on pace for a triple-double adding six assists. She was one of two Cardinals to go over the 20-poinr mark as sophomore Kimora Pooler was right behind her with 21 points. She finished with her first double-double of the season, leading the defense with 11 rebounds while shooting 50% from the field. The other two Cardinals in double figures were Shanley Woods and Lauren Calhoun, who each finished with 15 points on the day.

Through the first two minutes of the game, the Cardinals were trying to get their offense going as West Virginia State tallied the first four points of the night. A layup from Lauren Calhoun at the 7:58 mark put Wheeling on the board and they would go on a run scoring seven straight points over the next two minutes. Woods hit a big three during the run and a Jacqui Hinesmon layup staked Wheeling to a 7-4 lead. The Yellow Jackets got back on the board with a layup, but Wheeling just kept scoring as Woods hit another three and seven points later the Cardinals were ahead 14-6 with 3:23 left in the first. However, the Yellow Jackets had a run left in them as they rattled off 11 straight points to make it a 17-14 game. Cano notched her first layup of the night to make it 17-16, but after one West Virginia State held a 19-16 advantage.

Cano quickly got the Cardinals back in the lead with a pair of two-pointers to start the second quarter and Wheeling would score the first six points of the quarter. After West Virginia State tied things at 22-22, Cano was back at it with a layup and a Hannah Archer three extended the Wheeling lead to 27-22. Pooler added a layup and another two-pointer from Cano made it a 9-0 run for the Cardinals as they went ahead 31-22. Cano would score 12 of her 26 points in the second quarter as the Cardinals maintained the lead despite West Virginia State scoring eight of the next 12 points to make it a 36-30 game with 2:24 left before halftime. Defense red the final two and a half minutes of the half, with a Yellow Jacket three serving as the only points during that time, and Wheeling went into the locker room ahead 36-33.

In such a tight game, the Cardinals still had work to do in the second half if they wanted to maintain their lead. West Virginia State hit two free throws in the first 10 seconds to make it a one-point game, before a Pooler layup made it 38-35. After State hit a shot to keep pace, the Cardinals would pull away with an 8-1 run that turned it into a 46-38 Cardinal advantage with 6:56 left in the quarter. However, It would prove to be a game of runs and the Yellow Jackets went on a 10-4 run that found them once again within two points of the Cardinals with 3:21 left in the third. Cano once again led the Cardinals down the stretch with six more points on the night and Wheeling would head into the fourth quarter leading 61-55. 

The Cardinals were trying to avoid another West Virginia State run, and they traded the first four points of the quarter to push the score to 65-58. The Cardinals maintained their close lead throughout the quarter and led 77-67 with 3:36 to play. Wheeling was looking for one more run to seal the deal and they would get it, scoring six straight points to push the advantage to 83-67. Woods, Pooler, and Cano all contributed during the run and it would be enough to help the Cardinals secure their 91-77 victory. The win moves them to 4-1 in MEC play, and keeps their standing near the top of MEC heading into their final conference game of the 2022 portion of their schedule.

The Wheeling University Women's Basketball team returns to action on Saturday, December 10th, when they host the University of Charleston at 2 PM.