Crestview Hills, KY. – The Wheeling University Women's Basketball team (1-3, 0-0) wrapped up a four-game non-conference road trip on Tuesday night as they traveled to Crestview Hills, Kentucky. They battled a sharp shooting Thomas More team and the offense couldn't keep up as they fell to the Saints 78-48. Nearly a third of the points came from Bryana Henderson, who will look to carry her momentum into the team's home opener this weekend.
Henderson set a new season-high, finishing with 16 points, and falling just four points shy of her career high. She was the Cardinal's most efficient shooter on the night, shooting 6-12 from the floor and 3-3 from the free throw line. Henderson was a spark off the bench for the Cardinals a season ago and has transitioned that success into the starting lineup. Behind Henderson, were a pair of Cardinals to finish with nine points as Rachel Wilson and Kristel Rattasepp each finished with nine points on the night. Graci Fairman would lead the team's passing game, finishing with four assists, while Wilson and Kenzie Dalton led the way with five rebounds each on the day.
Henderson's big game would start right away in the first quarter after Thomas More scored the first five points of the game. Henderson would get the Cardinals going with a three-pointer that made it a 5-3 game. However, it was a game of Thomas More runs early as they went on to score seven of the next eight points, extending their lead to 12-4. Rachel Wilson hit a free throw to break the run before the media timeout and the Cardinals would make up some ground. Rattasepp and Mah Minthe would each hit buckets as part of a 5-0 run that got the Cardinals back within three points at 12-9. Thomas More would hit a run once again to end the quarter, scoring 10 of the final 12 points of the quarter and with 10 minutes gone the Cardinals found themselves behind 22-11.
It was the Saint's sharp shooting throughout the night that hurt the Cardinals, with Thomas More shooting 45% or better from the floor in all four quarters. They continued their run into the second quarter, bringing it to a 16-2 run before Wilson hit a jumper to get the Cardinals back on the board. That would be the only Cardinal points over the first six minutes of the quarter as Thomas More made it a 39-13 game with four minutes to play in the half. Wheeling would outscore the Saints 9-4 over the final four minutes of the quarter, with Henderson being responsible for five of those points, while Rattasepp hit a three during the process. The late surge wasn't enough as the Cardinals went into the locker room trailing 43-22.
The Cardinals were looking for momentum coming out of the locker room, and Wilson got them on the board with a layup on their first possession. However, as they head done throughout the night, Thomas More would go on another run, scoring 11 of the next 13 points to extend their lead to 56-24. Emilia Sierra Lacosta would break the run with a three-pointer and the Cardinal defense would go on its biggest stretch of success on the day, holding Thomas More to just two points over the final five minutes of the quarter. Sierra Lacosta would add another three-pointer and led the Cardinals on an 8-0 run as they got over the 30-point mark. Anna Drakeford would hit the final shot of the half and Thomas More led 58-32 heading into the final 10 minutes of play.
The final quarter would be the Cardinal's best quarter of the day as they scored a game-high 16 points on the day. After Thomas More scored the first three points of the quarter, Rattasepp would get the Cardinals on the board with a layup and they went off on an 8-0 run to get to within 24 points of the Saints at 64-40 with 3:46 to play. However, the damage had already been done as the Cardinals were finishing out the game. They got off a game-high 19 shots during the final quarter of play, with Henderson, Sierra Lacosta and Mia Donald each hitting sots over the final three minutes, but they fell 77-48.
The Wheeling University Women's Basketball team returns to action on Saturday, November 23rd, when they host Salem with tip-off at 2 PM.
