Wheeling W. Va. – Throughout her tenure as Head Women's Basketball Coach, Anna Kowalska's teams have prided themselves on playing solid defense. On Wednesday, the team stuck to that mantra, playing their strongest defensive game of the season as they picked up a 74-47 win in their non-conference finale against Salem. They held the Tigers to single digits in each of the first two quarters as they allowed the fewest points they have allowed in a game all season long.
The strong defensive effort began right from the start as Bryana Henderson got a steal on Salem's first possession of the game. Henderson would go coast-to-coast to hit the layup and Wheeling was off to a 2-0 lead. It would be the first of six Tiger turnovers in the quarter, three of those resulting in steals as Wheeling would hit a 9-1 run over the first four minutes of the game. Henderson would be the catalyst on the run, scoring five of the nine points, while Kristel Rattasepp and Rachel Wilson each added layups on the run. The Tigers would slowly begin to battle back in the quarter, getting as close as 9-5 before the media timeout. The Cardinal defense would allow just one more Salem three-pointer in the quarter, and scored nine more points of their own to lead 18-8 after one quarter.
After holding Salem to just a 25% mark from the floor in the first quarter, the Cardinal defense locked down even harder in the second quarter, dropping that percentage to just 15%. The quarter began with back-to-back buckets from Sierra Lacosta, and Wilson would get a turnover that turned into a fastbreak bucket that made it a 24-10 Wheeling lead. While the defense locked down, the offense took advantage putting up 30 points in the quarter. The fastbreak bucket would start the first of two Cardinals runs in the quarter, this one being a 6-2 swing. Wilson would end the run with a layup, and Wheeling was staked to a 29-12 lead at the media timeout. The second run would come over the final five minutes, as the Cardinals outscored Salem 15-4 with Mah Minthe leading the charge with 11 of those 15 points. Wheeling went into halftime leading 48-17 and looked to keep that going in the second half.
After being shutdown for most of the first half, Salem would make halftime adjustments and played even with the Cardinals in the third quarter. The Cardinals would once again start the quarter with a layup and Kristel Rattasepp added a three to make it a 55-21 game. It ended up being a big quarter for the Cardinal freshmen, who accounted for all but two of the Cardinal's 18 points in the quarter. Following the three, Rattasepp would add another layup right before the media timeout to finish with five points in the quarter. The Cardinal's leading scorer in the quarter was Sierra Lacosta, who scored nine of her team-leading 15 points in the quarter. The final two tallies would come on a pair of free throws by Kaylee Marvin and the Cardinals were staked to a 66-31 lead heading into the final quarter of play.
The final 10 minutes of play belonged to the Tigers, who outscored Wheeling 16-8 during the quarter. Salem would put up the first points of the quarter, and Marvin would answer with a layup on the next possession. Marvin would account for half the Cardinal offense in the final quarter, scoring four points, while Hillari Baker hit a three-pointer that made it 71-37 as they hit the final media timeout. Salem would hit their biggest run of the day over the final five minutes of play, outscoring Wheeling 10-3. Carmen Vasquez would hit the final shot of the game with a layup with 30 seconds to go, but it wouldn't be enough as the Cardinals held on for the 74-48 win. The Cardinal defense allowed just a 30% mark from the floor for Salem in the game as they look to continue that defensive success as they head back into conference play.
Leading the way for the Cardinals was Emilia Sierra Lacosta, who finished with 15 points on the night, while adding a pair of assists and a pair of rebounds. The freshman was able to shoot 7-11 (63.6%) from the floor, with nine of those points coming during the crucial third quarter that helped Wheeling seal the deal. She would be one of four Cardinals to hit double figures on the day with Rachel Wilson (13), Bryana Henderson (11), and Mah Minthe (11) each hitting the mark. Minthe scored all of her 11 points during the 30-point second quarter, and was 3-4 from the floor, including a 2-3 mark from beyond the arc. Wilson would lead the defensive effort with nine rebounds, while Kenzie Dalton knocked on the door of a triple-double, finishing with a team-high eight assists to go with eight points and nine rebounds.
The Wheeling University Women's Basketball team returns to action on Saturday, January 25th, when they host West Liberty with tip-off at 2 PM.
