Wheeling, W. Va. - January basketball is in full swing, and it is a sprint towards the 2023 Mountain East Conference (MEC) Basketball Tournament at WesBanco Arena. The Wheeling Women's Basketball team (7-7, 5-3) continues their stretch run on Wednesday when they host Fairmont State with tip-off at 5:30 PM. The Cardinals remain just two games out of the top spot in the conference and look to climb the ladder back to the top over the final seven weeks of the regular season.
Last time they took the floor, the Cardinals picked up a big win when they took down Concord 93-52 to move to 5-3 in conference play. The Cardinal's offense was strong throughout the day, scoring 20+ points in three of the four quarters while the defense held the Mountain Lions to single digits in two of those four quarters. Wheeling scored 10 of the first 12 points in the first quarter and followed it up with 10 straight to start the second quarter and never looked back. They scored 41 points during that first half and followed it up with 52 points in the second half as they set a new season-high with 93 points and went over the 90-point mark for the third time this season.
It was a big day for freshman Graci Fairman, who scored a career-high 20 points and went an impressive 7-7 from the free throw line. Of those 20 points, 16 came in the first half as she helped the Cardinals build their 41-19 lead by halftime. Over her last three games, the freshman averages 12.7 points per game and is becoming a more valuable piece of the Cardinals' offensive game plan. The 7-7 effort from the free throw line helped raise her free throw percentage to 73.3% for the season, putting her fourth best on the team as she continues to grow during her first collegiate season.
The Cardinal's other 20-point scorer was senior Lauren Calhoun, who picked up her eighth double-double of the 2022-23 season. She led the way with 22 points and finished with 11 rebounds on the night as she continues her strong senior season. Calhoun currently leads the MEC in rebounds (160) and rebounds per game (11.4) while sitting fifth in the MEC with 18.5 points per game. Sophomore Shamia Strayhorn also continued her recent string of success, scoring 11 points to put her in double figures for the third game in a row. Strayhorn is another player who has turned it on since the calendar flipped to 2023, averaging 11.0 points per game over that span while shooting 38.1% from the field.
With the big win Saturday, the Cardinals got themselves right back on track to compete for the top spot in the MEC. They currently sit two games back of Charleston and Glenville State for the top spot and just one game behind West Virginia State and their Wednesday night opponent Fairmont State for a tie for third place. Aside from Wednesday's game, two of the next three Cardinal opponents sit behind them in the standings and they look to take advantage of those opportunities. With 14 games left on the schedule, the Cardinals still have plenty of time to make a push for that top spot and position themselves for a first-round bye in the 2023 MEC Tournament.
The Matchup
The Cardinals and Falcons are meeting for the 44th time in program history, with Fairmont State leading the all-time series with a record of 27-16. When the two teams meet in Wheeling, the Cardinals are 6-14 against the Falcons, but have dropped four of their last five home games against Fairmont State. The two teams split last year's season series, with Wheeling winning in Fairmont, West Virginia and the Fairmont State winning in Wheeling.
In their last meeting, Wheeling fell at home to Fairmont State 89-53 during the second the last week of the regular season. Lauren Calhoun led the way for the Cardinals in that game, scoring 20 points and coming away with 11 rebounds in the loss. Taylor Cullen would add nine points off the bench while Shamia Strayhorn and Emily Holzopfel each added six points on the evening.
The Details
Tip-off for Wednesday night's game is scheduled for 5:30 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.
