Wheeling, W. Va. - Riding high off a home court win in "The Battle for Wheeling" the Wheeling University Women's Basketball team (10-8, 6-4) finds themselves in the midst of a three-game winning streak. The Cardinals look to keep the success going on Wednesday night when they welcome in the University of Charleston with tip-off at 5:30 PM. It will be a revenge game for the Cardinals, who are looking to even the season series after dropping the first matchup on the road between the two teams back in December.
It has been the Cardinal's defensive effort that has been leading the way as of late, and that continued in a 67-51 win over West Liberty on Saturday. As a team, the Cardinals would force 30 turnovers, 17 of those turning into steals, and accounted for 30 of their 67 points off of turnovers. It was a back and forth game throughout the first half, with the teams trading the first 24 points over the first quarter and being separated by just two points in the second quarter. The Cardinals went int halftime with a 30-28 lead and showed their defensive prowess coming out of the locker room. They held West Liberty to just nine third quarter points, while forcing seven Hilltopper turnovers with four of those being steals. Wheeling would put 15 points of their own up in the quarter, and rounded out the game with 22 fourth-quarter points to earn the 67-51 win.
Leading the way for the Cardinals was junior guard Kenzie Dalton, who finished with 14 points and a team-high six steals. All but two of Dalton's points were a result of those steals, as she set a new career-high accounting for half of the team's steals on the day. It was the second time in the last three games that Dalton has hit double-digits and was also the second time in that same time period where she has finished with six steals. It was part of a big week overall for Dalton, that saw her finish with 22 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists, and seven steals in a pair of big wins over Salem and West Liberty. Dalton will continue to be looked at as a leader for the Cardinals down the MEC Tournament stretch as they look to not only clinch their playoff spot, but earn a first-round bye.
The points leader for the Cardinals on the day was redshirt sophomore Rachel Wilson, who continues her breakout performance in 2025. She put up 16 points in the winning effort, while also leading the team with eight rebounds, marking her sixth double digit performance in the last seven games. So far during the 2025 portion of the schedule, Wilson has averaged 14.33 points per game, while picking up three double-doubles over the six games. Another breakout Cardinal in the new year has been freshman Layla Merriweather, who finished with 10 points off the bench. Merriweather has seen a heightened role off the bench, and has taken advantage scoring at least 10 points in three of her last four games, while averaging 8.0 PPG during that stretch.
As they get set to close out January on Wednesday, the Cardinals find themselves sitting around the middle of the pack in conference play. Their 6-4 mark in conference play is good for fifth in the Mountain East Conference (MEC) sitting just a half game behind both Charleston and West Virginia Wesleyan for third in the conference. Wednesday's game will be a big one for the Cardinals, with a win helping them leap frog the Golden Eagles in the standings. The Cardinals are in the middle of an important stretch of games, where they will battle two of the four teams sitting ahead of them with Charleston coming on Wednesday and West Virginia Wesleyan coming a week later. The Cardinals continue to take it one game at a time, as they look to secure one of the top six spots in the tournament field and grab a first-round bye.
The Matchup
The Cardinals and Golden Eagles will be meeting for the 43rd time in program history on Wednesday night, with Charleston leading the all-time series at 33-9. The Cardinals have played better in the all-time series at home, going 5-11 compared to a 2-16 mark at the University of Charleston. Wheeling is looking to snap a 15-game losing streak at the hands of the Golden Eagles, with their last win in the all-time series coming back on February 8th, 2018 inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center.
It will be the second game of the season series, with Charleston taking the first matchup 63-58 in Charleston on December 14th, 2024. The Cardinals were led by freshman Kristel Rattasepp, who finished with 11 points, while going 2-3 from three-point range. Bryana Henderson was the other Cardinal to hit double figures, finishing with 10 points, while Rachel Wilson led the defensive effort with eight rebounds.
The Details
Tip-off for Wednesday night's game is scheduled for 5:30 PM inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
