Wheeling, W. Va. – The Wheeling University Women's Basketball team (12-4, 7-2) was back inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center on Saturday as they hosted Concord. The two teams went back and forth throughout the night but it was the Cardinals who won the battle of the paint 73-64 to keep pace with the top of the Mountain East Conference (MEC). Of their 73 points on the night, 38 of those came from the paint as Wheeling's forwards took control of the game.
It was a battle throughout the early portion of the game, with the biggest lead held by either team being just five points. That would come right off the bat as Concord came out scoring, putting up the first five points of the afternoon.
Rachel Wilson would break the run with a layup in the paint and it started a battle between the teams in the paint. Concord's Abbie Smith responded with a layup of her own, and the Cardinals responded with two of their own to make it a 7-6 game as the first media timeout ticked by. It would be nearly two more minutes until someone got on the board, as the teams traded layups to make it a 9-8 Concord lead with 3:41 to play. Wheeling would take their first lead of the contest with a pair of free throws that made it a 10-9 Cardinal advantage, but Concord would grab the lead right back and held a 15-12 advantage after one quarter.
The Cardinals defense took control to start the second quarter, holding the Mountain Lions off the board for the first three and a half minutes. The Cardinals took advantage as Wilson hit back-to-back layups during that span that put the Cardinals back out in front 16-15 with 7:49 to go before the half. After allowing a layup from Concord's Maddie Ratcliffe,
Briarley Rogers answered with a layup to make it 18-17. That is when the Mountain Cats would hit their biggest run of the half, scoring eight straight points to make the lead 26-18. A pair of free throws by
Briarley Rogers would break the run and added another layup a few possessions later
Shamia Strayhorn would hit a pair of free throws to end the Cardinals scoring on the first half as they went in the locker room trailing 31-26.
The Cardinals were looking to start strong in the second half and they did just that scoring the first five points of the third quarter. Strayhorn began things with a layup as the Cardinals tied the game at 31-31. Concord would maintain their lead over the next two minutes, going ahead 36-35. The Cardinals would go ahead for the second time in the half on a three-pointer from
Graci Fairman but Concord answered once again with a layup of their own. However, Wheeling's offense just kept going as they hit their biggest run of the night, a 6-0 advantage and built their biggest lead at 45-39. Fairman accounted for four of the six points during the run and the Cardinals would not give the lead back for the rest of the night. They went ahead by as much as 15 points by quarter's end and held a 59-44 advantage after three quarters of play.
The Cardinals put up 33 points in the third quarter, setting their new high for the season and we're looking to close things out. However, the Mountain Lions would put up 20 points over the final 10 minutes and the Cardinals were tasked with holding off their come from behind effort. Hinesmon led the Cardinals through the early part of the quarter, hitting two layups and a Rogers three-pointer had the Cardinals out to their biggest advantage of the game at 68-50. As the final media timeout ticked by, Concord went on a 5-0 run that made it 68-55 Wheeling, before the Cardinals clinched the game from the free throw line.
Kenzie Dalton hit a pair of free throws that got the team to the 70-point mark and Fairman finished things out with four free throws to end the game. The Cardinals would hold on for the 73-64 victory as they moved to 12-4 overall and 7-2 in MEC play.
The Cardinals passed the ball around effectively throughout the game, with five different Cardinals hitting double figures on the day. Leading the way for the Cardinals was
Graci Fairman, who finished two points shy of her season-high with 18 points on the night. Fairman continued her recent string of success, shooting 4-9 from the floor and 8-10 from the free throw line. The other double figure scorers for the Cardinals were
Briarley Rogers (14),
Shamia Strayhorn (12),
Jacqui Hinesmon (12), and
Rachel Wilson (10). Wilson led the defensive effort with seven rebounds on the night while
Shamia Strayhorn picked up six assists and Dalton picked up five assists to round out the night.
The Wheeling University Women's Basketball team returns to action on Wednesday, January 24th, when they host Notre Dame College with tip-off at 5:30 PM.
