Wheeling, W. Va. - After finishing the regular season a perfect 8-0, the Wheeling University Women's Rugby team earned the right to host the 2024 Allegheny Rugby Union (ARU) Championship match. They welcomed in St. Bonaventure for what was the program's first official playoff match and they delivered. The Cardinals would claim their first ever conference championship, defeating St. Bonaventure 55-10 to keep their perfect season alive.

Coming into the game, both teams had high powered offenses and it was Wheeling that would get on the board first as they set up for a lineout in the fourth minute. Abbi Siller would catch the pass and pitched off to Alexis Dallas who touched it down for the first points of the game. Bella Gullatta would attempt the conversion kick, but a miss would keep the Cardinal advantage at 5-0. Both defenses came into play allowing single digit points per game and early on both were strong. The Cardinals would be back on the board in the 14^th minute as Joelle Taylor pounded the ball across the try line from one-meter out. Gullatta was successful on the conversion and Wheeling pushed their advantage to 12-0. St. Bonaventure wouldn't be held down for long as Elizabeth Lyons kicked through a penalty kick that made it 12-3.

The strong defensive play continued throughout the first half, as there was a 17 minute roll where neither team was able to get on the board. Then, the Cardinals broke through in the 34th minute as Ema Tai scored her first try of the day to up Wheeling's  lead to 17-3. Gullatta would make her second straight conversion kick and the Cardinals lead 19-3 with soc minutes remaining in the  half. As time ticked down, St Bonaventure would make one more push getting into Wheeling territory, sitting about 10 meters out, but the Cardinals came up with the stop. Wheeling would put one more try on the board before halftime as Abbi Siller took a pitch from Alli Davis and wheeling would go into halftime up 24-3 after the missed conversion kick.

Alexis Dallas has been the heart and soul of the Wheeling Women's rugby team over the past two weeks, and she continued that success once again on Saturday. She got the second half scoring started with her second try of the day That moved the Cardinal lead to 29-3. It was the start of a big half for Dallas, who added another try in the 55th minute, followed by a Gullatta conversion kick, and in the 70th minute did something she hadn't done yet this season. After Tai scored her second try of the day, it would be Dallas that lined up for the conversion kick. Set up in the middle of the field she sent the ball soaring through the uprights to bring her day to an end.

The Cardinals had two more tries up their sleeve, one coming before Dalla's is conversion kick and the other coming On the score right before her kick. In the 63rd minute, Wheeling went with their speed as Liz Sinatra took the ball around the outside and touched it down in the try zone. Right before Dallas's conversion kick, Gullatta showed she could do it all with one of the best plays of the afternoon. From the 40-yard line on Bishop Schmitt Field, Gullatta would kick the ball downfield towards a Bonnie's receiver. The ball would bounce off her chest and Gullatta was there to catch the ricochet. She would do the rest, sprinting the final 30 yards to the try zone and touching the ball down to complete the play. Dallas's ensuing conversion kick would sail through the uprights and brought the game to its final score of 55-10.

It was another big day for Alexis Dallas, who finished with three tries and went 1-1 on conversion kicks. She finished with 17 points on the day, falling three-point shy of her career best that she set in the game against Kent State two weeks ago. Gullatta would add a try of her own on the night and finished 4-8 on conversion kicks to total 13 points. Ema Tai would round out the double digit scores for the Cardinals, getting into the try zone twice and totaling 10 points. The final three Cardinal tries came courtesy of Joelle Taylor, Abbi Siller, and Liz Sinatra, who each finished with five points on the night. As the final whistle blew, the Wheeling Women's Rugby Players and coaches stormed of the field to celebrate the program's first ever conference championship. It continued what has been a perfect season for the Cardinals in their first year as a program, as they now have their site set on a national championship.

The Wheeling University Women's Rugby team now awaits their first round opponent in the National Collegiate Rugby (NCR) quarterfinals that kick off next Friday, November 15th, in Columbus, Ohio.