Wheeling, W. Va. - The Wheeling University Women's Basketball team (13-4, 8-2) have played well at home this season and continued that trend on Wednesday night when they hosted Notre Dame College. The Cardinals shrunk their magic number to clinch a Mountain East Conference (MEC) Tournament spot to 3 as they took down the Falcons 71-53 to pick up their 13th win of the season. It was a big day for junior Shamia Strayhorn, who set a new career-high with 24 points, 17 of those coming over the first 20 minutes of play.
Strayhorn's 24-point effort set her new career-high by one point, besting her effort from when she put up 23 points back on November 21st against Salem. She was also one of the most efficient shooters for the Cardinals, making 10 of her 15 field goal attempts on the day. The Cardinals once again spread the ball around, with five players finishing in double digures for the second straight game. Briarley Rogers was right behind Strayhorn with 12 points while Graci Fairman (11), Bryana Henderson (10), and Rachel Wilson (10) all hit the mark. The defensive effort was led by Jacqui Hinesmon, who finished with eight rebounds on the day while she and Kenzie Dalton tied for the team lead with four assists each on the day.
It was fast paced action early on, with both teams getting up and down the floor on both offense and defense. The Cardinals were the first to find the net at the 9:11 mark on a Shamia Strayhorn layup and she added another to give Wheeling a 4-0 lead. Notre Dame College responded with a three-pointer from Karli Anker on the next possession and the back and forth began. After the Falcons tied the game at 6-6, Wheeling would gain a one-point advantage on a free throw from Strayhorn. That gave the Cardinals the push they needed as they headed into the media timeout with an 11-9 advantage. Notre Dame College would retake the lead, pushing the score to 16-13 before Strayhorn once again broke the run with a layup. That shot would send the Cardinals on an 8-0 run, capped by a Bryana Henderson three at the buzzer to give Wheeling a 21-16 lead after one quarter.
The Cardinals momentum was broken to start the second as Notre Dame College responded with four straight points of their own to tie the contest at 21-21. After shooting an impressive 69.2% from the floor in the first quarter, the Cardinals came back down to earth a little in the second but maintained the lead. Henderson hit a pair of free throws to get the Cardinals back in front 23-21 and the score would come tied two more times over the next two minutes. Strayhorn would be at it again with a layup at the 5:31 mark and gave the Cardinals a 27-25 advantage at the media timeout. She completed the free throw that would follow and sent the Cardinals on an 8-2 run as they pushed to their largest lead of the day at 34-28. The Falcons would score the final four points of the half, but the Cardinals headed into the break with a 34-30 advantage.
As they did in the first quarter, the Cardinals were once again off and running as they began the third quarter, scoring the first four points of the new half courtesy of Rogers. After a Falcons free throw broke the start, Rogers was at it again with a three-pointer as the Cardinals continued to build on their lead. Fairman hit a three-pointer to push the lead to double figures and by the media timeout, the Cardinals were staked to a 46-38 advantage. Notre Dame College would cut the lead to 52-41 before the Cardinal's defense took over, shutting down the Falcons over the final 2:41 of the quarter. Fairman would get on the board one more time with a three-pointer at the 1:15 mark and after three quarters the Cardinals were staked to a 55-41 lead. The efficency they saw in the first quarter came back in the third, as they shot 57.14% to build their largest lead of the night.
As the game entered the final quarter, their efficient shooting continued as they shot 50%, 6-12, from the floor. A three-pointer by Notre Dame College's Kennadi Harris started the quarter and Strayhorn added a three of her own to make it 58-44. Defense would be the big ruler of the final quarter as the teams combined for just 12 points over the first six minutes of the quarter. Rogers would break the lull with a three-pointer and Wilson added a layup that made it 64-51 Wheeling with 2:27 to play. The Cardinals were able to take it from there, allowing just two more Falcon points in the quarter as they secured a 71-53 victory. The win dropped the Cardinal's magic number to clinch a playoff berth to just three games as they head into a big matchup this weekend.
The Wheeling University Women's Basketball team returns to action on Sunday, January 28th, when they take on West Liberty with tip-off at 2 PM.
