Wheeling, W. Va. – In a month where they will be at home for five of their seven games, the Wheeling University Women's Basketball team (9-8, 7-3) hit the road Saturday to take on Frostburg State. They were able to spread the ball around the court as they picked up a big 74-69 victory. Three different Cardinals finished in double figures, with two finishing with 15+ points, as the Cardinals keep pace with the rest of the Mountain East Conference (MEC), moving to 7-3 in conference play.

The Cardinals would take the early advantage to start the game on jumpers from Lauren Calhoun and Shamia Strayhorn, but Frostburg State battles right back with a 7-0 run as they took a 7-4 advantage. Graci Fairman would get the ball back in the Cardinals court with a pair of free throws that made it a one-point game. As they have at times throughout the season, the Cardinals defense went into shutdown mode over the next three and a half minutes. They didn't allow a Bobcat point during that time and Wheeling's offense took advantage. Strayhorn gave the Cardinals their first lead since the first minute of the game with a pair of free throws to make it 8-7. The lead would change hands three more times over the final three minutes of the quarter, before Fairman tied it at 18-18 with a three. Frostburg State would add a layup before time expired and Frostburg State led 20-18 after one.

Calhoun was back at it to start the second quarter, hitting a layup to tie the game at 20-20. The score would remain tied over the next four minutes as the teams traded eight points and the score sat at 24-24 with 6:54 left before the half. The Cardinals would score four straight points to get back to their biggest lead of the day at 28-24, but a Frostburg State three-pointer from Mackenzie Freeze brought it back to a one-point game. Wheeling led 31-32 with 4:05 left before the half, but four points later the Bobcats were back in the lead after a pair of layups. The Cardinals would trail 36-35 with a minute thirty to go and both offenses had trouble getting the ball into the bucket. The Cardinals would get the ball back with 23 seconds to play and Strayhorn would lay in a basket to make it a 37-36 Cardinal lead. The Cardinals would nearly get another basket before the half, but a blocked shot sent the teams into the locker room with the 37-36 score standing.

The Cardinals would once again start the scoring in the third quarter with a layup by Jacqui Hinesmon, but the Bobcats once again battled back. They went on another mining 4-0 run and took a 40-39 lead with 8:25 left in the quarter. Strayhorn hit a jumper to give Wheeling the lead back before the Cardinals went on their biggest run of the day at 5-2. Fatima Mohammad rounded out the run with a big three and the Cardinals lead was back to four at 46-42. Hinesmon hit another layup to push the Cardinals lead to 48-42 and at the third quarter media timeout that score would stand. Frostburg State cut the lead back to four before Bryana Henderson Hit a three-pointer and Wheeling was back on top 51-44. Frostburg State stayed alive, battling back on a 9-4 run and headed into the fourth quarter leading 55-52.

As the fourth quarter began, Mohammad hit her second three-pointer of the day and Wheeling was back out to a 58-52 lead. However, that would be the only shot for the Cardinals over the first four minutes of the quarter and it once again became a one possession game at 58-56. This one stayed tight until the final minutes of the game, with Wheeling leading 64-60 with 2:41 to play. Calhoun hit a pair of free throws and added a layup to make it 68-63. A three-pointer from Frostburg's Maggie Sharp made it 68-66 with 35 seconds to play. However, the Cardinals took care of business from the free throw line, going 6-6 from the charity stripe, to secure the victory. They went on to win 74-69 and moved to 7-3 in MEC play.

Leading the way again for the Cardinals was senior Lauren Calhoun, who picked up her 10th double double of the season. She finished with 21 points on the night to go along with 15 rebounds in the game. She was one of three Cardinals to finish in double figures on the night as Shamia Strayhorn (15) and Jacqui Hinesmon (10) each finished in double digits. Strayhorn led the passing game with three assists and added seven rebounds to cap off what was a big night. Fatima Mohammad finished with six points off the bench, that included two big three-pointers as she went 2-2 from three-point range. The Cardinals now look to bring this momentum back home with them as they prepare for a three game home stand.

The Wheeling University Women's Basketball team returns to action on Wednesday, January 18th, when they take on Notre Dame College at 5:30 PM.