Wheeling, W. Va. - After taking some time to spend with friends and family over the holidays, the Wheeling University Women's Basketball team (6-7, 3-3) got back to work on Wednesday night as they took a road trip to Fairmont, West Virginia. The young Cardinals battled throughout, but in the end it wasn't enough as they fell to the host Falcons 85-64, moving to 3-3 in Mountain East Conference (MEC) play. The Cardinals had three double-digit scorers on the night, but it wasn't enough to overcome a big third quarter push from the Falcons.
Fairmont State made a statement right from the get-go, scoring the first four points over just 50 seconds of play, before Rachel Wilson got the Cardinals started with a layup. Madeline Huffman would add on for the Falcons from beyond the arc, but Bryana Henderson answered back with a three-pointer of her own to keep it a 7-5 game with 7:32 to play in the quarter. Fairmont State would continue to add on, going on a 5-0 run and scored seven of the next nine points to take a 14-10 lead heading into the media timeout. A Kenzie Dalton jumper would be the only Cardinal points over the next four minutes, and the Fairmont State lead extended to 19-14. The Cardinal's freshman duo of Emilia Sierra Lacosta and Kristel Rattasepp would get the final two points of the quarter for Wheeling, who trailed 23-16 after one quarter.
The second quarter began with five straight Falcon points, before Dalton broke the run with a jumper to make it 28-18. The Cardinals would keep things close throughout the quarter, keeping the Fairmont State lead to single digits through the first six minutes of the quarter. Mah Minte would hit a three-pointer with 4:07 to go before the half that made it a 33-28 game and, with 1:28 to go, Wilson kept it a single-digit deficit with a layup to make it 39-30. The Cardinal defense bared down over the final two and a half minutes of the half and another Wilson layup sent the teams into the locker room with Fairmont State leading 39-32. Wheeling was efficient throughout the first half, shooting 41.9% from the floor over the first 20 minutes of play and would need to keep that consistency going into the second half.
However, as the third quarter began, the Falcon's offense just kept going as Jalen Gibbs hit a layup that sent the team on an 8-0 run to start the quarter. Dalton was able to break the run with a three-pointer and Sierra Lacosta added a layup, but the Falcon offense just kept going. They would score a game-high 24 points in the quarter and by the media timeout were out to a 52-39 lead. As the Cardinals tried to turn things around, they would turn to Layla Merriweather, who would have her biggest stretch of the day. She hit a three-pointer on the Cardinal's first possession after the media timeout, and added a layup two possessions later to make it a 58-44 game. However, those would be the only five points for the Cardinals after that media timeout and they trailed 63-44 heading into the fourth quarter.
The final quarter saw the Cardinals put together one last push as they tried to make a comeback over the final 10 minutes. Wheeling shot 50% (8-16) from the floor over the final ten minutes, with Minthe getting things started with a three-pointer. Dalton would lead the way for the Cardinals with five points during that final run, with Wilson and Sierra Lacosta each adding four points of their own. With Fairmont State leading 81-58 with 1:42 to play, Head Coach Anna Kowalska turned to her bench and they battled for the final two minutes. The game would end with Hillari Baker scoring her first collegiate basket with five seconds to go as the Cardinals fell to the Falcons 85-64.
Leading the way for the Cardinals was Emilia Sierra Lacosta, who finished with 13 points on the night. She would shoot 60% from the floor and led the Cardinals in scoring for the second straight game, after scoring 19 points against Ohio Dominican last time out. Sitting behind her were a pair of Cardinal double-digit scorers in Kenzie Dalton and Rachel Wilson, who each finished with 12 points on the night. Wilson would lead the way with nine rebounds in the effort, while Sierra Lacosta added a team-high six assists in the effort. As a team, the Cardinals shot 42.6% from the floor as the young team continues to grow on the floor.
The Wheeling University Women's Basketball team returns to action on Saturday, January 11th, when they host Frostburg State with tip-off at 2 PM.
