Fairmont, W. Va. – As the regular season comes down to its final three weeks, it was a battle for the top spot in the Mountain East Conference (MEC) on Wednesday as the Wheeling University Women's Basketball team (16-7, 11-5) took on Fairmont State. The Matchup was as advertised, with the two teams going back and forth throughout the night, but the Cardinals would come up just short falling 78-71. It was a career day off the bench for Bryana Henderson, but it wasn't enough to lift the Cardinals to victory.

The team finished with 30 points off the bench, and 20 of those came from Henderson, who set a career-high. Most of her success came from beyond the three-point line as she went 3-5 and added a 3-3 mark from the charity stripe to round out her day. The other Cardinal to hit double digits was sophomore Kenzie Dalton, who put up 14 points. It was the first time since coming back from injury that Dalton has reached double figures as she continues leading the Cardinal's offense. Dalton would also lead the team's defensive effort with seven rebounds, as well as their passing game with five assists. Despite the effort, the Cardinals continued to spread the ball around, with nine different Cardinals scoring on the day as they continue down the MEC Tournament stretch.

Things did not start out the way the Cardinals would have liked, with Fairmont State scoring the first six points of the contest. Shamia Strayhorn would break the run by drawing a foul and subsequently coming to the free throw line to nail her two shots. Briarley Rogers would add a jumper to get the Cardinals within three points before Fairmont State hit another 7-0 run. By the first media timeout, the Cardinals were trailing 14-4 as Head Coach Anna Kowalska was looking to motivate her team. They came out of the break on a 6-0 run of their own as they got back to within a 14-10 score. It would end up being a quarter of runs as Fairmont State was at it again, going on an 8-2 run at the end of the quarter and after one quarter it was a 22-16 Falcon lead.

It would be the Cardinals who started the scoring in the second with a layup by Rachel Wilson as they Continued to try and battle back. Rogers would hit a shot that made it 27-20 and Strayhorn would hit a layup as Wheeling made it a 29-22 game. At the media timeout, the Cardinals trailed 32-22 at the media timeout and would hit a run at the end of the half. Wilson would get it started with a layup at the 3:52 mark of the quarter and the Cardinals would embark on a 9-3 run that got them to within 35-31 with 2:30 to go. They would continue that run into the final minutes of play and, with 45 seconds to go, Kadie Colebank would hit a layup that gave the Cardinals their first lead of the night at 37-35. A pair of Fairmont State free throws would be the equalizer and at the halftime break, the Cardinals and Falcons were tied at 37-37.

The second half started very similarly to the first with Fairmont State going on a 6-0 run to start the end half. However, the Cardinals did not let Fairmont State pull too far away as Rogers hit a three-pointer and the Cardinals made it 43-40 with 7:53 to go in the quarter. The back and forth between the two teams continued throughout the quarter and by the time they hit the media timeout, it was a 49-44 advantage. Dalton and Staryhorn would lead the Cardinals down the stretch, with each scoring four points over the final five minutes as Wheeling stayed within 10 points of the Falcons. However, Fairmont State eclipsed the 20 point mark for the quarter for the second time on the day and heading into the final 10 minutes, the Cardinals trailed 59-53.

The final quarter saw the two teams go back and forth combining for 37 points during the final ten minutes of play. Dalton would hit the first jumper of the quarter for the Cardinals, but Fairmont State would continue to add on with a 5-2 run that made it a 64-55 game with eight minutes to play. The next point wouldn't come until two minutes later, when Henderson hit a big three-pointer to get the Cardinals back on track. It sparked a flurry of offense on both sides, and by the media timeout, Wheeling trailed 71-63, but the comeback began. Jacqui Hinesmon would hit a layup, and the Cardinals went on a 6-0 run to make it 71-69 with three minutes to play. However, the Cardinals would end up with just two more Henderson free throws on the night as they fell 78-71.

The Wheeling University Women's Basketball team returns to action on Saturday, February 17th, when they host Frostburg State at 2 PM.