Wheeling, W. Va. - The Mountain East Conference (MEC) regular season wraps up on Saturday and the Wheeling University Women's Basketball team (7-18, 7-14) will be honoring their senior class. They get to do so against their long-standing rivals West Liberty University in the Alma Grace McDonough Center with tip-off at 1 PM. The Cardinals look to get some momentum on their side as they head to the MEC Basketball Tournament next week.
The last time out for the Women's basketball team took the court, they fell short to Alderson Broaddus 78-72 in a close affair. There was a lot of back and forth between both teams from the jump as the first quarter ended all even at 16. The Cardinals ended up controlling the lead at half 35-30 and were looking to continue to build off that momentum. In the second Alderson Broaddus came out with a spark on offense and outscored Wheeling in the final two quarters. Wheeling made it a game with 20 fourth quarter points, but the Battlers secured the game at the free throw line for the six-point win.
Even though the outcome was not what she wanted, Lauren Calhoun led the Cardinals with another double double finishing the night with 26 points and 14 rebounds. For Calhoun, it was her 16th double-double effort of the season and her tenth double double over the last 11 games. Calhoun is a front runner for an All-MEC honor this season as she continues to lead the MEC in scoring and sit third in the MEC in rebounding. She looks to finish the regular season with another strong effort on the court before the tournament.
Along with her contributions Shanley Woods added 21 points of her own, giving the Cardinals two players eclipsing the 20-point mark. Jacqui Hinesmon played the role player role perfectly throughout the game, leading the team with three assists while scoring five points and grabbing seven rebounds. The balanced offensive attack from the bench will be key down the stretch as Wheeling tries to get more players involved heading into the tournament.
This loss gave the Cardinals a 7-14 record in conference play, but they still have hold of the #9 seed and will likely head into the tournament with that seed. That would qualify them for a play in game on Wednesday, March 2nd where they would match up with the #8 seed. At the moment, that would be a rematch of Wednesday night's game against Alderson Broaddus at WesBanco arena. Wheeling has played two tight games against Alderson Broaddus already this season and it would set up a big third meeting.
The Match Up
These two teams know each other well and have a long history with one another with 45 previous matchups prior to Saturday. In those 45 games, Wheeling has a record of 12-33 and has gone 2-3 against the Hilltoppers in the last five matchups. However, Wheeling has won each of the last two home games against West Liberty and looks to continue their winning ways at home against West Liberty, where they have an 8-11 all-time against the Hilltoppers.
The last time these two teams faced off was last month up the hill and West Liberty came out on top, winning 110-73. The Cardinals are looking forward to a different outcome Saturday as they have home court advantage. Keys to victory the Cardinals must slow down the two top scorers from the Hilltoppers Bailee Smith and Corinne Thomas. Smith and Thomas are coming into the night, averaging around 15 points per game and they lead the charge for West Liberty offensively. For the Cardinals offense Calhoun, Strayhorn, and Woods need to come out and set the tempo to control the game.
The Details
Tip Off for Saturday afternoon's game is scheduled for 2 PM inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
