Wheeling, W. Va. – The final stretch of first half Mountain East Conference (MEC) play came to the Alma Grace McDonough Center on Saturday. The Wheeling University Women's Basketball team (5-4, 2-1) welcomed in West Virginia Wesleyan and after falling behind early, made a push in the third quarter to make a comeback. However, the push wasn't enough as the Cardinals fell to the Bobcats 71-59, taking their first conference loss of the season.
Early on, the Bobcats defense controlled the game as the Cardinals were held off the board for the first five minutes of play. The Bobcats took advantage, going on a 10-0 run during that time and it wasn't until Emilia Sierra Lacosta drew a foul that the run came to an end. The freshman hit both of her free throws following the media timeout and Wheeling looked to dig themselves out of a hole. Bryana Henderson and Kenzie Dalton would each hit shots on the next two possessions and the Cardinals quickly shrunk the Bobcat advantage to 10-6. After West Virginia Wesleyan broke the run, Mah Minthe would come right back with a three-pointer and the Cardinals were just three points back. The Bobcats added one more shot before the quarter break, and Wheeling would trail 14-9.
After being held to single digits in the first quarter, the offense went to work on quarter #2, as Kristel Rattasepp scored in the opening minute. West Virginia Wesleyan maintained their five point lead through the first four and a half minutes as Rachel Wilson added a layup that made it a 20-15 game. West Virginia Wesleyan would have another run in them, outscoring Wheeling 9-4 over the next three minutes to push their lead to 29-19. A Rattasepp free throw broke the run, and the Cardinal's turned to the three-ball to inch closer. With the score sitting at 32-20 with 1:14 to play, Dalton and Rattasepp each hit from beyond the arc before the quarter ended to send the teams into the locker room with The Bobcats holding a 32-26 advantage.
After a slow start to the game, the Cardinals began to make their shots with a 46.15% mark from the floor in the second quarter. That efficient shooting would continue for the team throughout, as they put up a 40% or better from the floor in each of the final three quarters. The third quarter would be their highest scoring of the night, with the team reaching the 22 point mark. Wheeling would turn to their point guard to get them started, scoring the first bucket in under a minute. It would start a game-high 12-0 run for the team over the next four and a half minutes as the Cardinals took their first lead of the day at 38-34. Henderson added a three-pointer to preserve the lead, but the high-powered Bobcat offense came right back. They overtook the Cardinals with 2:13 to and headed into the final quarter with a 52-48 lead.
The Cardinal's most efficient quarter would come mover the final 10 minutes, with the team shooting 53.85% from the floor. Minthe sparked the Cardinals to start the quarter with a three-pointer and Layla Merriweather added a layup and the Cardinals made it a one-point game at 53-52. However, the Bobcats had one more long run in them, scoring 12 straight points to turn it into a 65-52 game with four minutes to go. Henderson would add a pair of layups over the final four minutes and Minthe added a layup of her own, but the damage had been done. Wheeling would suffer their first conference loss of the season, falling to the Bobcats 71-59 to end the day.
As she has done all season long, Mah Minthe provided a spark off the bench for the Cardinals, tying for the team lead with 14 points. She was the Cardinal's most efficient shooter on the day, shooting 5-10 (50%) from the floor, and came up with several big shots for the Cardinals throughout the night. Kristel Rattasepp tied with Minthe, adding 14 points, and was the Cardinal's top shooter from beyond the arc, finishing 3-5 from beyond the arc. Rachel Wilson continued her strong comeback, finishing with eight rebounds to lead the way, while Emilia Sierra Lacosta added five rebounds. Kenzie Dalton led the passing game with five assists and nearly reached double figures, finishing with eight points on the night.
The Wheeling University Women's Basketball team returns to action on Wednesday, December 11th, when they take on West Virginia State with tip-off at 5:30 PM.
