Wheeling, W. Va. - Coming into the 2021-2022 season, the Wheeling University Women's Basketball program underwent a lot of changes. Their top scorer from the previous season had moved on, they were introduced to a new head coach and graduate assistant, and a once veteran group would have a roster consisting of six freshmen. Despite all the change, the team managed to not only make it to the Mountain East Conference (MEC) tournament but made it to the quarterfinal round where they eventually fell to the tournament runner-up and NCAA Division II Elite 8 Qualifier Glenville State. The Cardinals are now looking to take that success with them into the future of the program.
There were some growing pains for the team at the beginning of their season, as they dropped the first five games, but the tides turned as December rolled around. The Cardinals scored their first win of the season against Davis & Elkins and provided one of the top moments of the year for Wheeling athletics when Shamia Strayhorn hit a half-court buzzer beater against West Virginia Wesleyan to give Wheeling two wins in a row. As the calendar turned to 2022, the Cardinals turned a corner and rattled off three wins in four games from January 19th to January 26th that got them back in the playoff picture. They would clinch the number nine seed with a win over Frostburg State on February 19th and were paired up with Alderson Broaddus in the first round of the MEC Tournament.
The Cardinals had lost to the Battlers in their two previous meetings but came out strong scoring 33 first-half points to take the lead. They added 20 more points in the fourth quarter to extend their lead and picked up a 68-62 win that advanced them to the MEC Quarterfinals. There, they would run into an undefeated Glenville State team that was looking to not only run the tournament but host the Atlantic Regional Tournament as well. Wheeling competed with the Pioneers throughout the first half of the game, but in the end, they couldn't overtake them as they fell 105-45 ending their season.
Wheeling was led throughout the season by the efforts of junior Lauren Calhoun, who earned All-MEC First Team Honors and D2CCA All-Region Honors for her work on the court this season. After scoring a combined 136 points in her first two seasons in the red and black, Calhoun broke out leading the MEC with 542 points and an average of 19.4 points per game. She recorded a conference high 17 double-doubles throughout the season and ended the year with a string of 13 double-doubles in her final 14 games played. Calhoun will have a shot at hitting the 1,000-point mark next season, as she sits with 679 career points, and will be looked at as a leader as this team moves forward.
Two other players who stepped up and took leadership roles this season were sophomore Shanley Woods and freshman Shamia Strayhorn. Woods quickly became the three-point threat for the Cardinals and hit just over 31% of her shots from beyond the arc. However, by season's end, she was one of Wheeling's top free throw shooters, making 92% of her shots from the charity stripe. Strayhorn came in and began her collegiate career on a tear, averaging 10 points per game over her first five games of the season. As the year went on, she took more of a passing role and finished the year fifth in the conference with 95 assists.
With a year of experience under many of these player's belts, they head into the 2022 off-season with a chance to continue to grow the program. They have made the MEC tournament in each of the last three seasons, making it to the quarterfinals in all three of those seasons, and are looking for that push to get them into the MEC Championship picture. With strong returners and a new recruiting class coming in, the future looks bright for Wheeling Women's Basketball.
