Wheeling, W. Va. - One of the best rivalries in NCAA DII basketball came to the Alma Grace McDonough Center as the Wheeling University Women's Basketball team welcomed West Liberty. It was a tight game throughout the afternoon, but the Cardinals made the second half push that would end up sealing the deal on the 67-51 victory. As a team, the Cardinals forced 17 steals in the game and getting 30 points off those steals to account for nearly half of the Cardinal's offense on the day.
With the Cardinals holding a slight 30-28 advantage at the halftime break, the Cardinals came out hot as Rachel Wilson dumped in the first layup of the second half. The Hilltoppers would respond, and both defenses locked down with just six points combined over the first four minutes of the half. With the game sitting tied at 32-32, the Cardinals would get a layup from Layla Merriweather that sent them on the run the sealed the deal. The Cardinals went on a 6-0 run that lasted almost four minutes and turned it into a 38-32 game. West Liberty would momentarily break the run with a layup, but the Cardinals answered right back. A layup from Merriweather would end the quarter and the Cardinals were staked to a 45-37 lead with 10 minutes to go.
The Cardinals pushed their lead to 10 with a Wilson layup and a Kenzie Dalton layup pushed their lead to their highest of the night at 51-39. The Cardinals are able to maintain the double digit lead through the media timeout, with Dalton hitting another layup to make it 57-48. It was efficient shooting from the free throw line that would seal the deal, with the Cardinals hitting eight of their final 10 free throws in the game. Bryana Henderson would account for six of those 10 free throw attempts, hitting half of her shots. The lock down defense for the Cardinals continued with three of their 17 steala coming over the final five minutes. With under a minute to go, the fouling would turn to Dalton, and she finished it out. She would hit each of her final four free throw attempts and sealed the deal for the Cardinals at 67-51.
While not the team's top scorer on the night, it was Kenzie Dalton that led the way, finishing with 12 points and six steals on the night. Each of her 12 points would come off the steal, as they set a new career-high with her six swipes. The team's leading scorer on the day was Rachel Wilson, who finished with 16 points while also leading the defensive effort with eight rebounds. Bryana Henderson would lead the passing game with three assists, while Layla Merriweather hit double digits for the second consecutive game, finishing with 10 points in the effort. The defense has been strong for the Cardinals over the last two games, and they look to continue the success as they move down the MEC Tournament stretch.
While it was the defense that led things late, the Cardinal offense got things going early. Wilson got things started with a layup and the Cardinals would go off on a 9-2 run that for them started early. Wilson was responsible for four of the nine points and with 6:26 to play in the quarter it was 9-2 in favor of the Cardinals. As quickly as they built the lead, West Liberty would battle their way back into the game. They tied things up before the media timeout and the teams would head into the media timeout with the score sitting at 9-9. Both defenses held the line for the next five minutes and at 1:44 Henderson would give the Cardinals a lead, but West Liberty's Olivia Baker would add a three that made it 12-10. Mah Minthe would tie it up before the quarter break, and after one the score sat at 12-12.
The second quarter began with a 9-0 West Liberty run, capped by a Baker three-pointer. The Cardinals answered the Hilltoppers run with a run of their own, scoring eight straight points to tie things at 21-21. With 2:10 to play in the quarter, West Liberty held onto their lead at 28-25 and the Cardinals were looking to make one final push. It would be Merriweather who tied things up at 28-28 with a three-pointer. Mah Minthe would give the Cardinals the lead with a pair of free throws with 1:21 to go and made it 30-28. The Cardinals would be able to hold West Liberty off the board for the final minute and the teams headed into the locker room with the 30-28 lead.
The Wheeling University Women's Basketball team returns to action on Wednesday, January 29th, when they take on the University of Charleston at 5:30 PM.
