Wheeling, W. Va. - The Wheeling University Women's Basketball team (9-7, 7-3) has gotten momentum back on their side as of late, winning each of their last three games. On Wednesday they bring that momentum home as they begin a long homestand against Notre Dame College with tip-off at 7:30 pm. It is the first of three straight home games for the Cardinals as they head towards the end of January with home court advantage on their side. 

Last time out, the team gutted out a hard fought 74-69 victory over Frostburg State as they kept pace with the other top echelon teams in the conference. It was a hard fought first quarter, with the Cardinals being outscored 20-18, but the offense battled back to keep the Bobcats at bay. Wheeling would put up 19 in the second half to take the lead and headed into the locker room up 37-36. The game would come down to the final seconds of regulation, with Wheeling holding a 70-67 lead with 27 seconds to play. However, the Cardinals got the job done from the free throw line, going 4-4 over those 27 seconds and went on to pick up the five-point victory. 

Leading the way for the Cardinals once again was Lauren Calhoun, who finished the night with 21 points and 15 rebounds to pick up her 10th double-double of the 2022-23 season. It also marked the seventh time this season that Calhoun has gone over the 20-point mark as she leads the MEC with 10 double-doubles this season. It is also a big milestone game for Calhoun on Wednesday night, as she enters play just 17 points shy of becoming the 29th player in Wheeling Women's Basketball history to reach the 1,000-point mark. She scored more than half those points last season (524) and is currently fourth in the MEC with 19.0 points per game this season. 

Sophomore Shamia Stayhorn continued her recent tear in 2023, finishing second on the team with 15 points while grabbing seven rebounds on the day. Since the start of the 2023 portion of the schedule, Strayhorn has become more and more involved in the Cardinal's offense. She has scored in double figures in four of the five games this season and is averaging 11.4 points per game during that stretch. Jacqui Hinesmon was the final Cardinal to reach double figures in the game, finishing with 10 points while shooting a healthy 55.5% from the floor. 

With the win on Saturday, the Cardinals were able to keep pace with the rest of the Mountain East Conference (MEC) in the race for the top spot. They enter Wednesday still sitting two games back of Glenville State for the top spot and a game back of Charleston and West Virginia State for the conference's second place spot. With games against all three of those teams remaining on the schedule, the Cardinals have a chance to gain some of that ground back as they come down the stretch. They have played well at home so far this season, going 4-4 in their first eight games and look to keep that momentum going during this three-game swing. 

The Matchup 

The Cardinals and Falcons are meeting for the 22nd time in program history on Wednesday and the second time so far in the 2022-23 schedule. Notre Dame College leads the all-time series with a record of 15-6 and has taken nine of the last 10 games played in the series. However, Wheeling has had more success at home against the Falcons, going 3-6 in nine contests compared to a 2-8 record when they play in South Euclid, Ohio. 

In their first meeting of the season, it was a close affair at Notre Dame College, with the Falcons coming out on top 55-51. Lauren Calhoun was the team's leading scorer in that game with 17 points and 14 rebounds, while Kenzie Dalton began her conference play career with a bang, putting up 11 points and nine rebounds in the loss. 

The Details 

Tip-off for Saturday'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.