Painesville, OH. – The Wheeling University Women's Basketball team (9-3, 4-1) brought the 2023 portion of their schedule to a close on Saturday as they hit the road. They took the trip to Painesville, Ohio as they battled Lake Erie College in non-conference action. Junior Shamia Strayhorn led the way with her first double-double of her collegiate career as the Cardinals grabbed a 65-49 victory as they headed into 2024.

Early on, it was the Storm that got things started as they put up the first nine points of the afternoon. They had the three-ball working, hitting two threes over the first five minutes and at the first media timeout it was a 9-0 Lake Erie advantage. Head Coach Anna Kowalska brought her team in and they made adjustments as the offense got going. At the 4:58 mark, Jacqui Hinesmon hit the first layup of the game and got the Cardinals offense going. They were able to answer with nine straight points of their own over the next minute and a half and things were tied at 9-9. Briarley Rogers led the way during the run with four points while Strayhorn added three as the Cardinals got back in it. Rachel Wilson and Strayhorn each added layups in the final minute of play and Wheeling was able to battle all the way back to have a 15-12 advantage after a quarter.

Lake Erie got back on the board with a free throw for the first points of the second quarter, but the Cardinals offense was officially awake. They would go on an 8-2 run as they turned a 9-0 deficit into a 23-15 advantage. After Lake Erie came back to make it 23-19, the Cardinals defense was able to lock down. They only allowed one point over the final five minutes of the quarter and the Cardinal's offense would take advantage. Strayhorn, Taylor Duplaga, and Hinesmon each hit shots as the quarter came to an end and the Cardinals would enter the halftime break with a 32-20 lead. After allowing nine points in the first six minutes of play, the Cardinal defense held them to just 11 over the final 14 minutes and would continue their strong defensive effort throughout the afternoon.

After shooting just 27% from the floor in the first quarter and 36% in the second quarter, the Cardinals were looking for more efficiency in the second half. As they started the third quarter, the Cardinals once again took a while to get going, not getting on the board for the first two and a half minutes of the quarter. It was Kenzie Dalton who would break the draught with a layup as the Storm has made it a 34-24 game at the 7:04 mark of the quarter. Strayhorn and Dalton would each hit a layup and by the media timeout the Cardinals were ahead 38-24. For the second straight quarter, the Cardinals were able to hold their opponents to single digits, allowing a game low six points and heading into the final quarter of play the Cardinals held a 50-26 advantage.

Despite the deficit, Lake Erie continued to battle and put up a game-high 23 points over the final 10 minutes of play. It was the highest scoring quarter of the night, with the two teams combining for 38 points and it was the Storm who started things with a 7-2 run as they got the score back to 52-33 with 7:37 to play. A Rachel Wilson layup stopped the slide and started Wheeling on the eventual run that would end the game. The Cardinals went on an 8-3 run that spanned the next five plus minutes as the team took a 60-40 lead with 2:42 to play. Strayhorn, Henderson, and Rogers all got involved on the run as the Cardinals were able to put the game out of reach. They would be outscored 9-5 over the final 2:42 of play, but it wasn't enough as the Cardinals picked up the 65-49 win to break their short three-game slide.

The Cardinals were led by Shamia Strayhorn, who picked up the first double double of her collegiate career in the victory. She ended the day with 20 points and 11 rebounds, while continuing to be efficient with a 5-6 mark from the charity stripe. She was one of two Cardinals to finish in double digits, with Rachel Wilson (13) and Graci Fairman (10) also hitting the mark. Wilson was the other Cardinal to finish in double digits on the day, finishing with 10 rebounds to go along with her 13 point effort. It was also a big day for the Cardinal's defense, who allowed a season low 49 points in the win. The Cardinals have allowed 69 points or less in all but two games this season and continue to be the MEC's top defensive team in 2023-2024.

The Wheeling University Women's Basketball team returns to action on Wednesday, January 10th, when they host Fairmont State with tip-off at 5 PM.