Wheeling, W. Va. – The Wheeling University Women's Basketball team (6-6, 4-2) kicked off 2023 on Monday night when they hosted Malone University. It was a tight battle throughout, but the Cardinals fell to the Pioneers 63-58. It was back and forth throughout the night, but a late run for the Pioneers was what eventually did the Cardinals in.

As has been the case a couple of times this season, scoring was hard to come by over the game's first ten minutes. Lauren Calhoun notched the first layup a few minutes into the game and Malone added two points of their own. The teams combined for just eight points over the first four and a half minutes of play and, by the first media timeout, Malone held a slight 6-4 advantage. The score remained there until the 3:32 mark when Graci Fairman got the team going with a three-pointer. Fatima Mohammad added a three of her own and the Cardinals found themselves in front 10-6 in the late going of the quarter. Malone would battle back, but the pair of threes were enough to keep Wheeling in the lead as they headed to the second quarter up 12-10.

Calhoun once again got the scoring started in the second quarter with a layup, but Malone battled back to make it a 15-13 affair. After a three by Ava Lickliter pushed the Cardinals lead back to five, the Pioneers went on a 7-0 run to grab their first lead since the halfway point of the first quarter at 20-18. Hinesmon tied the game with a layup, but another Pioneer 5-0 run made it a 25-20 Malone advantage with 3:18 to go before halftime. Over the next minute, the Cardinals went to work from the free throw line with Strayhorn and Calhoun each hitting a pair to bring it back to a 25-24 game. Another Malone three-pointer made it a four-point game, but Wheeling would have one more shot at a last second play. A Pioneer turnover with five seconds to go gave Wheeling the ball back as Kenzie Dalton brought the ball quickly down the court. She got to the three-point line and sent a shot flying towards the net. It made it a 28-27 game heading into the half and gave the Cardinals some much needed momentum heading into the second half.

Strayhorn came out strong in the third quarter and helped Wheeling regain the lead with a layup and a free throw that made it a 30-28 Cardinals advantage. After a Malone layup to tie the game, the Cardinals would extend their run to 8-2 as they grabbed their biggest lead of the day at 35-30. Strayhorn was at it again a few minutes later and converted on a three-point play that extended the Wheeling lead to 40:33 with 5:16 to play. However, Wheeling faced a stout Malone defense over those final five minutes and the Pioneers battled back to tie things at 40-40 with 1:58 remaining in the quarter. Shanley Woods would hit a three on the next possession and it would be enough to give Wheeling the lead heading into the fourth quarter at 43-40.

Wheeling got the start they wanted in the fourth quarter after Calhoun and Fairman each hit jumpers to make it a 47-42 game. Malone battled back to make it a 47-46 game before Calhoun hit another layup that brought it to 49-46. However, the Pioneers kept pressing and eventually overtook Wheeling at the 6:42 mark, taking a 50-49 lead. Calhoun brought it back even with a free throws, but a 7-1 run over the next three minutes turned it into a 57-50 game. Calhoun capped her big offensive night, scoring four of the team's final six points, but it wasn't enough to complete the comeback. Kenzie Dalton scored the final Cardinal's basket of the night and as the buzzer sounded Wheeling fell 63-58 as they head back towards Mountain East Conference (MEC) play.

Lauren Calhoun once again led the Cardinals offense, going over the 18-point mark for the seventh time this season. She finished with 19 points on the night, and was one rebound shy of a double-double with nine rebounds. Shamia Strayhorn used a big second half to be the only other double digit scorers for the Cardinals on the day with 10 points. Everyone passed the ball around effectively throughout the night, with Graci Fairman leading the way with three assists. Three other Cardinals finished with two assists on the night as the Cardinals season record came back to even at 6-6 as they head back to conference play. They face a tough stretch right from the get-go as they start the sprint to the 2023 MEC Tournament at WesBanco Arena.

The Wheeling University Women's Basketball team returns to action on Wednesday, January 4th, when they take on #8 Glenville State with tip-off scheduled for 5:30 PM.