Wheeling, W. Va. – With two more weeks of games before the 2024 Mountain East Conference (MEC) Tournament, the Wheeling University Women's Basketball team (16-8, 11-6) looks to get momentum on their side heading towards the postseason. The team looks to get back in the win column as they hit the road on Wednesday to take on Concord with tip-off at 5:30 PM. A win would drop their magic number to clinch a first-round bye to just one as they enter a big celebration on Saturday afternoon.
The Cardinals had a close loss on Saturday to Frostburg State, but they have already clinched a spot in the playoffs, and they continue to fight for a higher seed down the stretch. Early on, the two teams were locked in a dead even battle, with the score tied at 12-12 through one quarter. However, Frostburg State's offense just kept getting better throughout the night and they scored 20+ points in each of the final two quarters. The Cardinals would try to keep pace, adding 20 points in the third and 19 in the fourth, but they would end up falling short in the 77-64 defeat. The loss dropped them to 16-8 overall and 11-6 in conference play as they fell to third in the MEC standings.
Rachel Wilson and Shamia Strayhorn have been a big reason for the Cardinals winning games and being in close games, so hopefully they can keep that up and finish the season on a positive note. Briarley Rogers and Shamia Strayhorn will be two players that Wheeling will be leaning on to win on Wednesday as Strayhorn leads the team in PPG at 13.5 and assists at 56 while Rogers is averaging 11.6 PPG and has 16 steals. They are both great at both sides of the ball and that will be a big help to get a win and keep the momentum going into the playoffs.
Concord has some stars as well with Jaisah Smith averaging 15.2 PPG and 47 steals while Abbie Smith has 13.9 PPG and 15 blocks on the season, so they are also great players on both ends of the quart and that is something that Wheeling is going to need to prepare for and stop on Wednesday.
With just two weeks of games to go, the conference s jumbled up from 1-7 with any of those seven teams able to make a run. The Cardinals hold a 2.5-game lead over Concord entering play and 4.5 games separate first place and seventh place in the conference. For the Cardinals, each of their final three games come against teams who are in MEC Tournament contention, andonly one of those three opponents are teams they have beaten earlier this season. They look to not only wrap up a first-round bye, but also get the highest seed possible heading into the final three conference games of the season.
The Matchup
This will be the 38th meeting between Wheeling and Concord with Wheeling leading the way 24-13 Wheeling also won the last meeting that had, but it was a close game, so this one should be a lot of the same for these two teams. Concord is 14-10 on the season and is coming off a close win against Davis & Elkins, so Wheeling will have to be at their best because Concord will have the momentum with it being at home.
In their most recent matchup, the Cardinals fell to Concord inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center in a 77-64 affair. The Cardinals were led in the effort by the duo of Briarley Rogers and Rachel Wilson, who each finished with 14 points on the day, while Wilson led the defensive effort with eight rebounds. Shamia Strayhorn and Bryana Henderson would also hit double digits in the game with 12 and 11 points.
The Details
Tip-off for Wednesday night's game is scheduled for 5:30 PM inside the Christie/Cox Court at the Carter Center on the campus of Concord University. You can watch the action live by clicking HERE and follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
