Wheeling, W. Va. - After a hefty road schedule to start the season, the Wheeling University Women's Basketball team (7-8, 4-4) kicked off their longest home stand of the year so far on Wednesday night. They welcomed in Glenville State for Mountain East Conference (MEC) play and, after both defenses had their share of successes in the first half, the Cardinals fell to the Pioneers 77-65. Wheeling once again made a late push, putting up a 78.5% mark from the floor over the final 10 minutes, but the damage had already been done.
Right from the get-go, the young Cardinals team had to adjust to a fast-paced Glenville State attack. The Cardinals would win the opening tip-off, and scored the subsequent basket on a Rachel Wilson lay-up, but it was all Pioneers after that. Glenville State would take off on a 15-0 run that spanned the next eight minutes of the quarter. It was 11-3 in favor of the Pioneers heading into the media timeout, and the Cardinal's defense would find their footing. They held Glenville State off the board for a span of three minutes, but the offense just couldn't find the net. It wasn't until the 2:09 mark that the Cardinals got on the board again, with Wilson hitting her second shot of the quarter. Wilson had one more shot in her before time expired, but the Cardinals would be trailing 15-6 after the first quarter horn sounded.
Head Coach Anna Kowalska rallied her troops during the quarter break, and they came out scoring, putting up five straight points to bring them to a 7-0 run. Emilia Sierra Lacosta brought the run to an end with a layup that made it 15-11, before a three-pointer from Glenville's Jade Salter's brought the run to a halt. The Cardinals would hang around thanks to strong shooting from the free throw line, with the Cardinals going 6-8 in the quarter, and kept it a five-point game. The Cardinals were able to limit the three-ball throughout the half, holding them to just a 22.2% mark from three-point range in the half. It allowed the Cardinals to stay close. However, the Pioneers just kept scoring and by the halftime break, they built a ten-point lead at 28-18.
The second half began the same way as the first half with Rachel Wilson dumping in a layup to get the Cardinals within 10-points at 28-20. Both defense played well early on, with the two teams combining to score just six points over the first four minutes. Glenville State would extend their lead to 35-23, and Mah Minthe would get going. She hit a layup to get the Cardinals back on the board and added a three-pointer right before the media timeout to make it a 36-27 game heading into the media timeout. However, every time the Cardinals struck Glenville state had an answer as they continue to expanding their lead. They would get ahead 51-33 with under a minute to go in the quarter before Wilson hit a free throw to send the game into the final 10 minutes with the score 51-34.
As has been the trend over the last couple of games, the Cardinals will put together their best effort of the night in that fourth quarter. Kristel Rattasepp would get the quarter started with a jumper, and it was a pair of substitutions that would spark the Wheeling offense. Layla Merriweather was up first, hitting a free throw following Rattasepp's shot and adding a three-pointer on the next possession to make it a 53-40 game. She would end up scoring 10 points in the quarter, was seven of those coming in the first three minutes, capped by a 3-pointer that made it a 55-45 game with 7:42 to play. Up next was Hillari Baker, who continued her success from beyond the arc. Baker got started with a three-pointer and right before the media time out hit her second of the game to make it a 55-51 affair. However, that is as close as the Cardinals would get as Glenville State kept coming and went on to win 77-65.
It was another big day for Rachel Wilson, who picked up her third straight double-double scoring a team high 20 points while pulling down 18 rebounds. She was able to rack up points from the free throw line, going 6-8, and continued her hot start to the 2025 portion of the schedule. The other Cardinal to hit double figures on the day was Layla Merriweather, who said a new career high with 10 points in the effort. She would lead the team with three three-pointers on the day, going a perfect 3-3 from long range. Kenzie Dalton rounded out the day with a team high six assists to go along with eight points, while Hillari Baker kept her success going with eight points.
The Wheeling University Women's Basketball team Returns to action on Saturday, January 18th, when the team heads to Concord with tip off at 2 PM.
