Wheeling, W. Va. - After starting February on a down note, the Wheeling University Women's Basketball team (14-13, 12-9) have gotten back on track as of late with back-to-back wins. They look to keep that momentum going as they travel up the hill to wrap up the regular season with "The Battle for Wheeling" as they take on West Liberty at 2 PM. The Cardinals are looking for the season sweep of the Hilltoppers after taking them down at the Alma Grace McDonough Center back in January.
Last time out, the Cardinals had a season-best offensive performance when they put up 98 points in what was a 98-74 win over Alderson Broaddus. The Cardinal's offense was strong throughout the night, but it was the defense that was clicking on all cylinders early on. They held the Battlers to just 12 points in the first quarter and allowed just 15 in the second quarter. Wheeling went into the half leading 48-27 and looking to keep riding high. The Battlers came back strong in the second half, with a pair of 20+ point efforts, but Wheeling continued their success and went on to win 98-74. It was the fifth time this season that Wheeling reached the 90-point mark as they set a new season-high with 98 points.
A lot of the offensive success came from a strong day from the Cardinal's bench. The bench players accounted for 42 of the team's 98 points with sophomore Kimora Pooler leading the way with 16 points off the bench. After dealing with some injuries throughout the season, Pooler came back strong, scoring the most points since she put up 21 points against West Virginia State back on December 7th. Graci Fairman also had a big day off the bench, putting up 13 points and continuing her strong freshman season. She had her best three-point shooting day of the season, going 3-3 from beyond the arc.
For the third game in a row, the Cardinals were led by sophomore Shamia Strayhorn, who finished with 19 points on the night. Strayhorn has turned it on down the stretch, averaging 16.6 points per game over her last five games and has scored at least 11 points in each of those five games. Lauren Calhoun was the final double figure scorer for the Cardinals, Lauren Calhoun, who finished with 13 points. She also led the team with seven rebounds as she just fell short of another double-double. With both the starting five and the bench players clicking on all cylinders, the Cardinals look to continue that success heading into the tournament.
With one game left in the regular season, the Cardinals have already clinched a first-round bye and are locked into the #6 seed heading into WesBanco Arena. All that is left to decide is who they will be playing, as they face the loser of Charleston and West Virginia State to end the regular season. As they head into their final edition of "The Battle for Wheeling" the Cardinals are looking to keep their momentum going while also staying healthy heading into the MEC Tournament next week.
The Matchup
The Cardinals and Hilltoppers will be meeting for the 48th time in program history as they continue their storied rivalry. West Liberty leads the all-time series with a record of 13-34 and the Cardinals are just 2-18 when they head up the hill. Wheeling got back in the win column for the first time since the COVID shortened season last time out and will be looking to get in the win column for the third time in the last six games.
In their first meeting of the season, Wheeling would pick up the win inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center 74-68. Lauren Calhoun led the way with 16 points on the day and finished with five rebounds to finish third on the defensive side. Kenzie Dalton led the way with seven rebounds on defense and added 12 points of her own while Shamia Strayhorn finished with 13.
The Details
Tip-off for Saturday's game is scheduled for 2 PM inside the Academic Sport and Recreation Center on the campus of West Liberty University. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
