Wheeling, W. Va. - Over the winter break, the Wheeling University Women's Basketball team (6-6, 3-2) took some time to rest and recover with their young team. They only played one non-conference game during the break and are now set to take the floor for the first time in 2025. They travel down I-79 to Fairmont, West Virginian on Wednesday evening as they battle Fairmont State with tip-off at 5:30 PM.
The last time the Cardinals took the floor was on December 21st, when they battled Ohio Dominican in non-conference action. Early on, the Cardinal's offense was firing on all cylinders, scoring the first 15 points of the game over the first five minutes of play. It would jumpstart their team and by the end of the first quarter, the Cardinals were staked to a 21-8 lead. However, in the second quarter, the script was flipped as Ohio Dominican outscored the Cardinals 24-6 in the second quarter to take a 32-27 lead into halftime. As the Cardinals came out for the second half looking to battle back and were efficient throughout the half, shooting 45.7% from the floor. Wheeling would score a combined 40 points over the final 20 minutes of play, but it wasn't enough as they fell to the Panthers 74-67.
After dealing with injuries early in the season, Rachel Wilson finished 2024 strong with her best game of the season. She tied for the team lead with 19 points and picked up her third double-double of the season with a team-high 11 rebounds. Her biggest stretch of the day would come when her team needed her most as she put up the first eight points of the third quarter to get the Cardinals to within four points of the Panthers at 39-35. Wilson shot 56.25% from the floor and put up 15 of her 19 points in the game over the final two quarters of play. The 19 points were a season high for the redshirt junior, and the most points she has scored since putting up 21 points against West Liberty on March 2nd, 2024. For her efforts, Wilson was named the Mountain East Conference (MEC) Women's Basketball Player of the Week for the first time in her career as she looks to continue her strong effort.
The Cardinals also had a 19-point effort from Emilia Sierra Lacosta, who finished with 19 points and seven rebounds. It was the second time in the last three games that Sierra Lacosta has hit double figures, reaching the mark last on December 11th against West Virginia State. She has been part of the two-headed freshman monster for the Cardinals, sitting second on the team with an average of 10.2 PPG. The other strong freshman performance for the Cardinals has come from Kristel Rattasepp, who leads the team averaging 11.8 PPG. Against Ohio Dominican, Rattasepp put up 12 points, while shooting 55.5% (5-9) from the floor. Rattasepp and Sierra Lacosta look to continue leading the Cardinals as they take the floor throughout the year.
Entering the second half of the MEC schedule, The Wheeling Women's Basketball team sits right in the middle of the pack in the conference. They currently sit in a three-way tie for the fourth-place spot, tying with Glenville State and West Liberty for that fourth-place spot. They sit just two games behind West Virginia Wesleyan for the top spot in the conference, and a half game out of second place. However, they will be tested to start the second half conference schedule, taking on the two teams that sit directly ahead of them in Fairmont State and Frostburg State. A good start to the second half will have them in prime position to make a run at the MEC Championship come early March at WesBanco Arena.
The Matchup
The Cardinals and Falcons are meeting for the 51st time in program history on Wednesday, with Fairmont State leading the all-time series at 30-20. The Cardinals have fared about the same both at home and on the road, going 8-15 away from the Alma Grace McDonough Center, while averaging 64.34 points per game in the all-time series. It has been an even split between the two teams with each team going 3-3 during that stretch and splitting the season series for each of the last three years.
Their last meeting came on February 14th, 2024, in a game where the Cardinals fell to Fairmont State 78-71. Wheeling was led by Bryana Henderson, who finished with 20 points, going 3-5 (60%) from beyond the arc. Kenzie Dalton added 14 points while leading the way with seven rebounds and five assists, while former Cardinal Briarley Rogers added nine points to round out the day.
The Details
Tip-off for Wednesday night's game is scheduled for 5:30 PM inside the Joe Retton Arena on the campus of Fairmont State University. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
