Glenville, W. Va. – The last time the Wheeling University Women's Basketball team (6-7, 4-3) met Glenville State was in the 2022 Mountain East Conference (MEC) Quarterfinals when they fell 105-45. The Cardinals were looking for some revenge on Wednesday night when they made their first trip to Glenville, West Virginia this season. It was a hard fought battle for the Cardinals, but in the end they fell to the Pioneers 84-64 to drop to 4-3 in conference play.
Early on, the Cardinals defense was stout, not allowing Glenville State on the board for the first two plus minutes of the game. Meanwhile, the Cardinals would go on a 5-0 run, fueled by three points from
Lauren Calhoun, as the Cardinals took a 5-0 lead. However, the Pioneers would not be held down for long as they hit a three to start a 7-0 run to make it a 7-5 game at the 5:53 mark of the quarter. A
Shanley Woods three-pointer broke the Glenville State run and got the Cardinals back in front at 8-7. Glenville State would go on another run, this time 5-0 to make it a 12-8 game with 2:33 to go in the first. The next point wouldn't come for nearly two minutes, as
Graci Fairman hit a layup, but after one the Cardinals would find themselves trailing 15-10.
Calhoun once again got the scoring started in the second quarter with a layup and Wheeling made it a one-point game at 15-14 a minute into the quarter. The Pioneers answered with four points of their own, but the Cardinals were determined to not allow the big run. They got a free throw from Calhoun, followed by a three from
Shamia Strayhorn and it was a two-point game once again with just 6:22 to go before the half. Everytime Glenville State got something going, the Cardinals were right there to respond and they made it a 26-23 game with 3:55 to go before halftime. The Pioneers extended their lead to 31-23 before
Kimora Pooler got on the board with a pair of layups to bring it to a 33-27 game. However, the Cardinals would score just one more point before the half was out and the teams broke for the locker room with Glenville State leading 38-28.
Coming out of the second half, the teams hit dueling threes to start what would be a high scoring second half. The Pioneers would end up scoring six of the first nine points of the quarter as they extended their lead to 45-31 at the 7:39 mark of the third. Strayhorn got the ball back on Wheeling's side with a layup and Calhoun scored five straight points to get the Cardinals back on the move.
Graci Fairman hit a layup at the 5:19 mark and a Strayhorn jumper got the Cardinals back to within seven points with 4:23 to go. The Pioneers followed with another run, this time a 6-2 run, and pulled ahead 55-44. After being held off the board for nearly a minute, the Pioneers added four free throws and by the end of the third quarter were leading 61-48. The Cardinals were still very much within striking distance and looked to continue the offensive push.
However, Glenville State only grew their advantage to start the fourth quarter, going on a 6-1 run that turned it into a 67-49 game. The Cardinals continued to fight throughout the quarter, but were unable to get within 15 points of the Pioneers for the rest of the game. It was a big quarter for senior
Jacqui Hinesmon, who scored eight of her 11 points in the quarter. The Cardinals would put up their second 20-point quarter of the game, but Glenville State was able to score 23 points to solidify the 84-64 win. The loss moved Wheeling to 4-3 in MEC play but they showed that they can go shot for shot with one of the best teams not only in the conference but in all of Division II basketball.
The Cardinals spread the ball around throughout the night, having four different Cardinals finish in double figures. Leading the way once again was senior
Lauren Calhoun, who scored her seventh double-double of the season. She led the way with 15 points and 13 rebounds as she continues her strong showing in 2022-23. There was also a near double-double on the night as
Jacqui Hinesmon set a new season high with 12 points while leading the passing game with seven assists.
Shamia Strayhorn (12) and
Graci Fairman (11) were the other two players to score in double figures on the night. The four double figure scorers were the most for the Cardinals this season as they look to carry that offensive momentum into the weekend.
The Wheeling University Women's Basketball team returns to action on Saturday, January 7th, when they host Concord with tip-off at 2 PM.
