Wheeling, W. Va. – The season-opening homestand continued for the Wheeling University Women's Basketball team (3-1 0-0) as they played in the rare second half of the doubleheader. They would get out to a fast start, and it was enough to power them to a 57-45 win. The Cardinal defense would continue their strong start to the season, holding their opponents to a sub-60 score for the third time in four games this season and lowered their Mountain East Conference (MEC) leading points per game allowed to 54.5 on the season.
In the first quarter, that strong defensive effort would be put on display right away, holding the Spark to just four points over the first 15 minutes. Emilia Sierra Lacosta would get the quarter started with a three-pointer and the Cardinals used their fast pace of play to their advantage. On the next Washington Adventist possession, Kenzie Dalton would get the steal and went coast-to-coast with the ensuing layup to put Wheeling ahead 5-0. The Shock could not keep up with the pace, and Wheeling would go on a 15-2 run that spanned the first nine minutes of play. Graci Fairman would score five points during the run, and Emma Reynolds and Sierra Lacosta each added threes before Washington Adventist's Nia Powell broke the run with a layup. The Cardinals would see themselves with a 15-4 lead at the end of the first quarter, but the Shock were not ready to roll over without a fight.
Wheeling kept right on going in the second quarter, with Fairman being responsible for the first five Cardinal points, and the Cardinals led 20-6 with 8:36 to go in the half. Reynolds would add a tip-in layup in the paint, but a three-point play from Tye Queen had Washington Adventist moving in the right direction. They would go on a 9-0 run that turned what was a 14-point Cardinal lead into just a five-point lead. The Cardinals would go just 4-14 from the floor in the quarter, with the first three makes being in the first three minutes of play. Wheeling would get on the board one more time before the half, with Sierra Lacosta hitting a fast break layup after a Dalton steal, and Wheeling went into the locker room with a 24-17 advantage on their side. Wheeling was held to just nine points in the quarter and would have some work to do to find their shot once again.
After the halftime break, Layal Merriweather would score the first points of the half with a lay-up and Sierra Lacosta would add a three on the next possession that made it a 29-20 game. However, the Washington Adventist momentum from the second quarter continued into the third and the Shock cut the Cardinal lead to 34-30 with 5:35 to play. Sierra Lacosta would hit a three that sent the game into the media timeout, and Wheeling's advantage was pushed back to 37-30. Wheeling was able to hold that advantage at seven over the last two minutes, thanks to a layup from Merriweather, but Washington Adventist kept coming. The Shock would go on a 6-0 run over the final three minutes of the quarter and, with 10 minutes to go, it was a 39-38 Wheeling lead. It would once again be the Cardinal defense that turned the tide, holding the Shock to single digits over the final 10 minutes.
Neither team would score over the first two and a half minutes of the quarter, until Sierra LAcosta hit a jumper to make it 41-38. It started a short run that saw Wheeling score seven of the next nine points, with a Sophia Toscano three-pointer leading the way. Washington Adventist would keep the game within five points at 49-44 at the media timeout, but Dalton would keep her team going with four straight points. Sierra Lacosta added a three-pointer at the 2:47 mark that all but put the game out of reach. Sierra Lacosta would come to the free throw line and went 1-2 at the 53 second mark, and the Cardinal defense held the Shock scoreless over the final five and a half minutes of play. The Cardinals would go on to win 57-45 and improved their record to 3-1 on the season.
Leading the way for the Cardinals was Emilia Sierra Lacosta, who finished with her first double-double of the season. She led the way with 20 points, while also pacing the defensive effort with 10 rebounds, completing her first career double-double. Finishing behind her was Graci Fairman, who scored 15 points on the night, with 12 of those coming in the first half. She went 3-6 from three-point range and was the Cardinal's most efficient three-point shooter on the day. Finishing behind Sierra Lacosta in the rebounding game was Emma Reynolds, who finished with seven points and seven rebounds, while Kenzie Dalton led the passing game with six assists in the effort.
The Wheeling University Women's Basketball team returns to action on Wednesday, November 26th, when they host Ohio Dominican with tip-off at 2 PM.
