Wheeling, W. Va. - As finals week wraps up at Wheeling University, students are preparing to head home to celebrate the Christmas season with their families. For the Wheeling University Women's Basketball team (6-4, 3-1) they are looking to end the first half Mountain East Conference (MEC) season strong as they hit the road to Charleston, West Virginia. They travel to the University of Charleston Saturday at 2 PM and look to keep their recent string of conference success going.
On Wednesday, the Cardinals picked up their third conference win in their first four games as they battled West Virginia State. The Cardinals got off to a hot start in the game, thanks to their shooting efficiency from the floor. They started with 18 first half points to take a narrow four-point lead while shooting 44.4% from the floor. As the first half went on, the Cardinal's offense only got better, upping their shooting percentage to 47.06% from the floor and 50% from beyond the arc in the second quarter. It amounted to their best offensive quarter of the game, putting up 21 points, and they went into the half with a 39-26 advantage. West Virginia State returned the favor in the third quarter, scoring 21 points of their own, and added 15 more in the fourth quarter. It would take a late Cardinals push, scoring nine points in the last three minutes, as they finished off the 63-62 win.
Leading the way once again for the Cardinals was freshman Kristel Rattasepp, who continued her strong freshman season. She led the way with 14 points on the night, while being the Cardinal's most efficient shooter going 5-9 (55.5%) from the floor. She came through biggest when her team needed her most, scoring seven points in the final three minutes, including the game-winning layup to help the Cardinals secure the win. It marked the seventh time this season that the freshman was in double figures and put her five points shy of her career high. She is the only Cardinal averaging double figures this season, averaging 11.9 PPG, and looks to wrap up a strong first half against Charleston.
The other double digit scorer for the Cardinals was Emilia Sierra Lacosta, who finished with 11 points on the night and went 3-8 from beyond the arc. For Sierra Lacosta, it was a continuation of her success from beyond the arc, where she has made three or more three-pointers in two of her last three games. During that stretch, she has shot 36.4% from beyond the arc, and sits fifth on the team with a 32.7% rate from beyond the arc. When the Cardinals have needed a spark from the bench as of late, they have gotten just that from Mah Minthe. She was just shy of double figures, finishing with eight points on the night, while going 4-10 from the floor. Minthe has been the Cardinal's second leading three-point shooter this season, going 36.4% from the floor, and continues to play her role as the team's sixth man.
As they wrap up their first half MEC schedule, the Cardinals are sitting strong in the upper half of the conference standings. The Cardinals currently sit fourth in the conference and are just a game and a half behind West Virginia Wesleyan for the top spot in the conference. Their early season schedule has seen them take on three teams that currently sit below them in the standings, with the lone exception being MEC leading West Virginia Wesleyan. The second half of their season starts with a bang, as Fairmont State and Frostburg State each sit ahead and they look to set themselves up for success as they enter the meat of their conference schedule in January.
The Matchup
The Cardinals and Golden Eagles will be meeting for the 42nd time in program history on Saturday, with Charleston leading the all-time series at 32-9. The Cardinals are looking to end their first half of conference play with a win, trying for their first win against the Golden Eagles since February 8th, 2018. Two of the Cardinal's nine wins all-time have come on the road, and the team has averaged 61.07 PPG in the all-time series.
The last meeting between the two teams came on March 7th, 2024, when they met in the quarterfinals of the MEC Tournament as the Golden Eagles won 62-60. Rachel Wilson led the Cardinals on both sides of the ball in the matchup, finishing with 10 points and seven rebounds on the night. Former Cardinal Shamia Strayhorn was the other Cardinal to finish in double figures, while former Cardinal Briarley Rogers added a team-high three assists and nine points in the effort.
The Details
Tip-off for Saturday's game is scheduled for 2 PM inside the Wehrle Innovation Center on the campus of the University of Charleston. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
