Wheeling, W. Va. – In the closing minutes of Wednesday night's game, the Wheeling University Women's Basketball team found themselves behind by seven. A three-minute rally flipped the script as the Cardinals got back in the win column with a 63-62 win over West Virginia State. The effort helped them improve to 3-1 in Mountain East Conference (MEC) play as they bounced back to win their fourth game In their last five meetings.

With the clock sitting at 3:04 to play, the Cardinals found themselves trailing 61-54. After a Kenzie Dalton layup, the momentum began to shift thanks to Kristel Rattasepp, who hit a three-pointer to get the Cardinal run started. It was the first of seven straight points for the freshman, as a layup with under two minutes to play brought it to a 61-59 game. She ended the stretch with a layup that gave Wheeling a 63-61 lead with 1:21 to play. The Cardinals would need a big stop and West Virginia State would get one final opportunity  with three seconds to play. They would bring Zakkorah Robinson to the line and she would miss the first shot off the rim. She put the second shot through, but it wasn't enough as the Cardinals picked up a 63-62 win.

The key to the Cardinal's late game heroics was their hot start over the game's first 20 minutes. It was a back and forth battle early on, with the lead changing hands six times through the opening quarter. With 2:43 to go before the quarter break, the Cardinals got going as Mia Donald came off the bench with a layup that made it 13-12 Wheeling. It was the start of a four-point swing for Donald, as another layup made it 15-12. West Virginia State responded to make it a one-point game again, but on the next Cardinal possession Kayle Marvin drew a foul and made her way to the free throw line. She went 1-2 to get it back to a two-point game, and Mah Minthe added a shot to end the half, giving Wheeling an 18-14 lead after one quarter.

Wheeling shot 44.4% from the floor in the quarter and took that even further in the second quarter. Emilia Sierra Lacosta got things going with a three-pointer, and added another two minutes later to start the Cardinal run. The three-pointer would send Wheeling on a 14-2 run over the next five minutes to make it a 30-16 game with 5:19 to go in the half. 12 of those 14 points came from the three-point shot, wyrg Sierra Lacosta hitting two of those four threes. Following the media time out, the Cardinals kept tacking on with Bryana Henderson hitting a pair of layups to make it a 17 point Cardinal advantage. The yellow jackets had the league cut to 10 at 36-26, but Sierra Lacosta had one more three in her bag of tricks and sent the Cardinals into halftime leading 39-26. 

The Cardinals shot 47.06% from the floor in the quarter, and 50% from beyond the arc, to build their biggest lead of the night. However, it was West Virginia State's turn to answer in the third quarter as they put together their highest offensive showing of the night. The Cardinals will get the first two points of the quarter on a pair of free throws from Rattasepp, but West Virginia State soared going on an 11-1 run over the next 5 minutes. It cut the Cardinal advantage to 42-37, and by quarters end it was a three-point game. A pair of free throws from Russell gave West Virginia state momentum and they carried it into the fourth quarter. The yellow jackets would score 11 of the first 13 points in the quarter before the media time out, with a Graci Fairman jumper accounting for the only two Cardinal points. The Wheeling defense would bear down over the final five minutes leading to the come from behind victory.

Leading away for the Cardinals was freshman Kristel Rattasepp, who finished with a team high 14 points in the effort, seven of those coming during the final 3 minutes. She finished as the Cardinals most efficient shooter, going 5-9 ( 55.55%) from the floor and 2-4 (50%) from beyond the arc. Emilia Sierra Lacosta would be the other Cardinal to finish in double digits, finishing with 11 points on the night, while leading the team going 3-8 from three-point range. The defensive game was led by Kaylee Marvin, who finished with nine rebounds, while Kenzie Dalton and Mah Minthe, who finished with five rebounds each on the night. Dalton would also lead the passing game, finishing with five assists on the night to round out the Cardinal's effort.

The Wheeling University Women's Basketball team returns to action on Saturday, December 14th when they hit the road to face Charleston at 2 PM.