Buckhannon, W. Va. – History was made in Saturday in Buckhannon, West Virginia as the Wheeling Women's Basketball team (7-0, 3-0) took on West Virginia Wesleyan. The Cardinals held off a fourth quarter comeback opportunity for the Bobcats as they picked up a 58-51 win for their seventh straight victory. It is the first time in program history that the team has started a season 7-0 as they remain undefeated in Mountain East Conference (MEC) play.

For the second game in a row, it would be a big first half effort that got the Cardinals going. Rachel Wilson hit a layup to start the night and the teams would go back and forth through the first three and a half minutes to a 10-8 Wheeling advantage. The Cardinals would go on a short 4-0 run with Kenzie Dalton and Kadie Colebank each hitting shots to move the Cardinals lead to 14-8. That lead would hold for the rest of the quarter as three different Cardinals hit buckets over the final six and a half minutes and the Cardinals were up 20-17 after one quarter of play. The Cardinals continued their string of early success as they now average 20.8 points in the first quarter of games this season.

In the second quarter, the Cardinal's top ranked defense in the conference showed why they earned that honor. They were able to hold the Bobcats to just eight points in the quarter and held them off the board for the first four minutes of play. During that time, the Cardinals would go on a 7-0 run that pushed their lead to 27-17, being led by a big three-pointer by Briarley Rogers. By the media timeout, the Cardinals continued to hold their 10 point lead at 31-21. Bryana Henderson hit a three-pointer and Rachel Wilson followed with a jumper and that was enough to send the Cardinals into halftime with the  lead. They were ahead 36-25 heading into the break, but would have to rely on their top ranked defense in the conference to hold off a late Bobcat push. 

The third quarter would begin with a bang as Dalton hit a three-pointer coming out of the break, and t after a Bobcat field goal, the Cardinals kept the momentum on their side. They went on a 9-4 run that pushed their lead to 45-29. Junior Shamia Strayhorn would account for nearly half her team's points during the run, hitting a pair of free throws and a jumper. West Virginia Wesleyan would add one more jumper before the media timeout, and brought the Cardinal's lead to 45-31. The Cardinals were not done, as Strayhorn added two more points to her night and a Rogers three got Wheeling to the 50 point mark. The Bobcats would have a slight advantage over Wheeling down the stretch, outscoring them 6-5 and the Cardinals had a 50-37 lead entering the final 10 minutes of play.

The Cardinals began the fourth quarter with a free throw from Dalton, but the offense was held to just eight points in the final quarter. While the Cardinals offense was being held off the board, the Bobcats got going and made it a nine-point game at the media timeout. Rachel Wilson pushed the lead back to double digits with a jumper at the 4:20 mark, but West Virginia Wesleyan went on another run. This time, it was a 5-0 run and with a minute to play it was 55-49. The Cardinals needed one more big shot to put the game away and they got it with 17 seconds to play. Strayhorn hit a big three-pointer and it would be enough to lift the Cardinals to a 58-51 win.

The shot capped off what was a big day for Strayhorn, who finished with 15 of her team's 58 points on the day. Strayhorn has now been the tram's leading scorer in five of the seven games this season and is averaging 14.4 points per game. Briarley Rogers was the other Cardinal to finish in double figures on the night, putting up 11 while shooting 50% (4-8) from the floor. Rachel Wilson rounded out the top scorers, finishing with eight points on the night while also leading the defensive effort with 10 rebounds. Bryana Henderson and Strayhorn rounded out the passing game, each finishing with a team high three assists in the win.Oy is the first time in the program's 48-year history tht the team has started a season 7-0 and they look to keep the success going as 2023 rolls on.

The Wheeling University Women's Basketball team returns to action on Wednesday, December 6th, when they take on West Virginia State at 5:30 PM.