Both defenses held strong throughout the first quarter of play, with only 12 points being scored over the first seven minutes of play. Charleston would get the first points on a layup from Jamia Nesmith, and the Cardinals first points came a minute and a half later. Freshman Kristel Rattasepp drew a foul and knocked down both free throws to tie the game at 2-2. The team's would trade the first 12 points of the night and with 3:23 showing on the first quarter clock it was a 6-6 game. Wheeling would get to the free throw line again as Kaylee Marvin gave them their first lead, and a Mah Minthe layup made it a 10-6 Cardinal advantage. The lead flipped twice during the final three minutes of the quarter, but a pair of Kenzie Dalton free throws gave Wheeling a 14-13 lead after one.
 

The back and forth continued into the second quarter, with Charleston going on a 5-0 run that gave them an 18-14 advantage. Wheeling responded with four points of their own to tie the game on an Emilia Sierra Lacosta layup and the teams remained tied through the media timeout. With the score sitting at 20-20, Wheeling hit their biggest run of the night, started by a Marvin layup The Cardinals would score five of the next six points and staked themselves to a 25-21 advantage with 1:55 to go before the break. Charleston continued to battle, scoring four straight points to tie the game at 25-25, but Mia Donald would hit a layup to send the Cardinals into the locker room with a lead. Despite shooting 30% from the floor, the Cardinals hit the break with a two-point lead and were looking to build on it.
 

Charleston came out with the first points of the new half, but Rattasepp hit a three-pointer to keep the Cardinals in front. The three ball kept the Cardinals ahead as Rattasepp hit another and a Rachel Wilson layup at the 5:34 mark had the Cardinals out in front 35-32. The Golden Eagles tied the game with a three-pointer from Annario Harper, before the Cardinals were back on a run. This time, it was a tip-in layup from Rachel Wilson that got things going, and the Cardinals were off on an 8-0. Mah Minthe would end the run with a layup and the three-point play as Wheeling was out to a 43-35 lead. Charleston would answer with seven straight points of their own to make it a one-point game, and Kenzie Dalton added a layup to give Wheeling a 45-42 lead heading into the final quarter.
 

Rattasepp added a free throw starting the fourth quarter, but the Golden Eagles would not go down, coming right back to tie the game. The game would remained tied at 50-50 with 3:49 to go, before the Golden Eagles hit a 9-0 run to make it a 59-50 affair. Wheeling used their timeouts over the final 42 seconds of play as they tried to battle back. Dalton would start the comeback effort with a three-pointer and Bryana Henderson would add a three-point play of her own with 15 seconds to play. Charleston would come to the free throw line one more time and put the game out of reach. Minthe would add one more layup before the game was over and the game was brought to its final score of 63-58.
 

Leading the way for the Cardinals for the third straight game was freshman Kristel Rattasepp, who finished with 11 points on the night. Most of her success came from beyond the arc, where she led the team going 2-3 (66.7%), while adding a 5-6 mark from the free throw line. The other Cardinal to reach double digits on the day was Bryana Henderson, who finished with 10 points, while being the Cardinal's most efficient shooter on the night, going 4-9 (44.4%) from the floor. Rachel Wilson returned to form, leading the defensive side of the ball with eight rebounds, while adding six points on the day. The passing game was lead by Kenzie Dalton, who finished with three assists, and was just shy of double digit points with nine.
 

The Wheeling University Women's Basketball team returns to action on Saturday, December 21st, when they hit the road to face Ohio Dominican at 2 PM.