Wheeling, W. Va. - After a grueling preseason schedule, the Wheeling University Women's Basketball team (0-1, 0-0) took the court for the first time in 2025-2026 season. They took on Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) opponent California (PA) to start the weekend, and fell in a nail bitter, dropping the game 63-62 in the final seconds. Senior Kenzie Dalton would take control of the court when her team needed her most, carrying them through a 30-point second half and finishing just two points shy of her career-high in the effort.
The Cardinals went into the half with a 32-29 advantage and at the time, Dalton would be responsible for just two of her team's 32 points. CAL-U would get the first points of the half, but the Cardinals would turn to Graci Fairman, who had 13 in the first half, as she delivered a layup to make it 34-31. Freshman Emma Reynolds would add a three-pointer that pushed the Cardinal advantage to 37-35. The two teams would go back and forth over the next four minutes, and a Emilia Sierra Lacosta layup would put up a jumper that made it a 39-38 Cardinal lead. On the next possession, Dalton would draw an offensive foul, and went to the line, hitting both of her free throw opportunities. Dalton would add a layup and a three to round out the corner, and was on a streak of seven straight points for the Cardinals. She helped Wheeling maintain their lead and, despite several answers from the Vulcans, the Cardinals clung to the 46-44 advantage.
Dalton would single-handedly help keep the Cardinals in front, scoring the team's first 10 points of the fourth quarter to push her streak to 17 straight Cardinal points. She started things by going 1-2 at the free throw line, but made up for it with a jumper on the next possession. CAL-U would tie the game at 49-49 with 7:54 to play, but Dalton would draw another foul, and hit the ensuing free throws. After the Vulcans came even again, the senior came down the court and hit a driving layup, before drawing the foul for the three-point play. She hit the shot coming out of the media timeout, and Wheeling was staked to a 54-51 lead. Dalton's run would end with a layup at the 6:37 mark that made it a 56-51 game, and the Vulcans would hit a 7-0 run and took their first lead since the first quarter at 58-56 with 3:49 left on the clock.
Both teams would go shot for shot with each other down the stretch, and Layla Merriweather drew a foul and hit both free throws to tie the game at 58-58. The two teams traded three's with under three minutes to go, with CAL-U's Kennedy Bankett and Wheeling's Sierra Lacosta each hitting shots and the game was tied at 61-61. The Vulcans would come down the court and got a layup from Kimaya Williams and just like that it was a 63-61 game. Neither team would get on the board as the clock ticked under a minute but, with one second on the clock, Sierra Lacosta drew a foul and had a chance to come to the free throw line to tie the game. She would hit the first free throw, but the second would end up bouncing off the rim and the Cardinals fell by the final score of 63-62.
It was a big day for Kenzie Dalton, who led the Cardinals in points, assists, and tied for the team lead in rebounds in the season opener. She finished just two points shy of her career-high, finishing with 19 points, while adding eight rebounds and eight assists to complete the near triple-double effort. Graci Fairman added 15 points, finishing a team-best 3-7 from three-point range and 4-6 from the free throw line, while Emilia Sierra Lacosta added 10 points to round out the day. Freshman Emma Reynolds got her first collegiate start, and woudl tie Dalton for the team lead with eight rebounds, while adding nine points and a block to round out her day. The Cardinals were hot early, making 55.33% of their first quarter shots, but they finished at 41.2% to round out the night.
Wheeling came out hot in the first half, with Dalton starting the scoring and a Fairman three-pointer giving Wheeling a 5-2 lead early on. Fairman would continue her fire from three-point range, making it an 8-5 lead, but CAL-U would battle back. They would hit a 7-0 run that gave them their first lead of the night at 12-8. It would once again be Fairman that sparked the comeback, starting things with a free throw, and tying the game late with a four-point play that made it 15-15. Reynolds would hit back-to-back buckets and a three from Elena Marin Dawid gave Wheeling a 22-17 lead heading to the second quarter. It was back and forth through the final 10 minutes of the first half, but the Cardinals would outlast the Vulcans and went into halftime leading 32-29. It all came down to the final minutes as the Cardinals battled throughout the day.
The Wheeling University Women's Basketball team returns to action on Saturday, November 15th, when they host Edinboro with tip-off at 2 PM.
