Wheeling, W. Va. – Before they leave campus for Thanksgiving break, the Wheeling University Women's Basketball team (3-2, 0-0) took the court one last time. The Cardinals played host to Ohio Dominican in their final non-conference tune-up before Mountain East Conference play, falling in a defensive battle 55-43. It was the third straight game where the Cardinals kept the opposition under the 60-point mark as they continued to show why they are the top defense in the MEC.
Wheeling would win the opening tip-off and set the tone right away. Emma Reynolds would hit a three-pointer in the opening 35 minutes of play to give Wheeling a 3-0 advantage. A 4-0 Ohio Dominican run followed and the two teams would go back and forth throughout the first quarter. The lead changed hands three times during the quarter, with the Cardinals getting the lead heading into the media timeout. Layla Merriweather would hit a layup that flipped the scoreboard to a 7-6 Cardinal lead. Ohio Dominican's Sarah Ochs would answer, but Reynolds would hit a jumper that sent the Cardinals into the media timeout with a 9-8 lead. The second Panther 4-0 run of the quarter flipped the score for the third time, and Gabe them a 12-9 lead with 1:32 to play. Kenzie Dalton and Elena Marin Dawid would each hit jumpers before the quarter let out and the Cardinals would trail 14-13 after 10 minutes of play.
As they hit the second quarter, the Cardinal captain would get them back in the lead from the three-point line. It was Kenzie Dalton who hit the shot, and the Cardinals went ahead 16-14. Ohio Dominican would hit their third 4-0 run of the night, and would go out in front 18-16 at the 6:24 mark of the quarter. It was once again Dalton that got things going from the three-point line, and Graci Fairman added a tip-in layup right before the media timeout, and the Cardinals held a 21-18 advantage. The final five minutes of the quarter would see the two teams nearly go shot for shot with each other, and an Emma Reynolds jumper at the 3:05 mark would give Wheeling a 23-21 lead. The Panthers would finish out the half with another one of their 4-0 runs, and the Cardinals would hit the halftime mark with the score sitting at 25-23 in favor of Ohio Dominican.
After a first quarter that saw the Cardinals shoot 42.86% from the floor and they were looking to channel that success in the second half. Dalton would start the second half with a driving layup, and the two teams would trade points over the first three and a half minutes of the new half. Another Dalton layup would end the back and forth, before Ohio Dominican hit their biggest run of the night. They would hold the Cardinals off the board for the remaining six and a half minutes of the quarter, hitting an 8-0 run that expanded their advantage to 37-29. Head Coach Ella Skeens turned to her bench for reinforcements, and it would be one of those that broke the run. Aluel Tong would drive into the paint and hit the layup for her first points of the season and the score sat at 37-31 entering the final 10 minutes of regulation.
However, it was only a temporary break in the run as the Panthers came out firing once again in the fourth quarter. They scored the first eight points of the final quarter, and a Dalton layup broke up the run with the score sitting at 45-33. Graci Fairman would make the next Cardinal shot before the media, hitting from three, but the Ohio Dominican lead expanded to 50-36. The rest of the bench would come in, including Ashley Shroades seeing her first action of the season as the Cardinals went to their depth the rest of the way. That depth continued the strong defensive play of the starters, holding Ohio Dominican to just two points over the final two and a half minutes, to keep the string of sub-60 point games alive. Avery Davis would hit a three and Dalton added a driving layup and the game would come to an end with Ohio Dominican picking up the 55-43 victory.
Leading the way for the Cardinals was once again Kenzie Dalton, who finished with 18 points on the night. It was the fourth time in five games that Dalton has scored at least 18 points in a game, and she was the Cardinal's most efficient shooter from the floor, going 7-14 (50%). The other Cardinal to hit double figures was Emma Reynolds, who finished with 11 points while adding eight rebounds in the effort. Dalton would also lead the passing game, finishing with four assists, while Graci Fairman added five points and three assists to round out the day.
The Wheeling University Women's Basketball team returns to action on Wednesday, December 3rd, when they open their MEC schedule against Point Park with tip-off at 5:30 PM.
