Wheeling, W.Va- From the moment the official threw the ball up for the opening tip-off until the final horn, the Wheeling University Women's Basketball team (6-4), (2-2) was in charge of this contest. It did not take long for the Cardinals to build its lead, and with a blink of an eye, the Cardinals regained footing in the Mountain East Conference (MEC) with a 71-50 win over the Davis & Elkins Senators.
D&E recorded the first points of the contest and saw themselves with a 3-0 lead one minute into the game. However, two quick trips downtown by Emilia Sierra Lacosta put the Cardinals up 6-3 with 7:12 remaining in the first and Wheeling did not let up for the duration of the contest. The Cardinals played great defense to limit the minimal chances the Senators had with blocks and steals on what felt like every possession. Senior Graci Fairman rattled off four points in the paint 30 seconds apart and a little later, Kenzie Dalton splashed a three-pointer to make it 13-3 Wheeling with under four minutes in the first. The Senators ended its scoreless run with two made free throws and a field goal, but a layup in the dying seconds of the first by Emma Reynolds closed the first chapter of play with a 19-9 Wheeling advantage.
Lacosta showed off her range to begin the second frame of action. D&E entered a stretch of nearly a minute and a half where they had six opportunities to add some points to their side of the scoreboard, but all attempts failed to fall into the basket. Fairman added a fastbreak layup to extend the Cardinal lead 24-9 with 7:30 remaining in the half. The Sens finally found the bottom of the net with a layup by Addison Boram and another two successful free throw attempts by Sydney Prince to close the gap to 11. Fairman's free throws moved the lead to 13 again with four minutes left, and then Lacosta caught fire as she recorded the following six points for Wheeling for a new score of 32-15. Hillari Baker chipped in with a layup with a minute left, and Elena Marin Dawid concluded the second quarter with two free throws as the Cardinals left the court with a 36-18 lead.
It took a little bit longer to see the first points of the third quarter until a free throw from D&E at the 8:51 mark ended the suspense. Wheeling answered with two points of their own in the form of Dalton driving to the rack just seconds later. The Senators tried to capitalize on a small Cardinal scoring drought, but Lacosta responded with a deep ball, extending the lead to 20 for the first time in the game. It was now 41-21 with 6:53 remaining in the quarter. When the Senators nailed two free throws, Dalton got those two points back almost immediately, and Fairman tacked on another two with a nice jumper. Reynolds added three points with a field goal and free throw and after the media timeout, Layla Merriweather rang up five points with a jumper from both inside and outside the dome, making it 53-28 Cardinals. With under two minutes to go, Fairman and Dalton each came down with two points, but the Senators ended the quarter with the last four points as Wheeling had a 57-34 lead heading into the final frame.
A Merriweather free throw opened play up in the fourth, and each team traded jumpers within the opening minute. It was here that the Wheeling coaching staff decided to pull out most of its starters so that the bench players could see some conference action. Brooke Edge did not wait long to make her mark on the scoresheet as she dished a pass over to Dalton to make the scoreboard read 64-38 and the clock showing under eight minutes left. Lacosta snatched the ball and fed it to Dalton for two more points. However, D&E began to string together consecutive points. The Senators went on an 8-2 run over the next two minutes to cut its deficit to 22. Dalton's three points ended the run in the form of a layup and free throw, which would be the final points of the night for the Cardinals. The Senators managed four more points in the final four minutes. With the sound of the buzzer, Wheeling defeated D&E 71-50.
Four players ended up with 10 or more points, with three of them being starters. Emilia Sierra Lacosta put up 20 points and six rebounds while shooting 7-16 from the field and making five of 11 attempts from range. Kenzie Dalton, who had only recorded 11 points in the previous two matchups, finished with 16 points coupled with 12 rebounds, seven assists, and two steals. This marks her second double-double of the season with her first one coming against Edinboro on November 15th when she put up 28 points and 10 rebounds. Graci Fairman ended with 14 points and made six of 11 shots from the field. Layla Merriweather registered 10 points, making four of seven from the field. Emma Reynolds recorded seven points while Elena Marwin Dawid and Hillari Baker each had two points.
The Wheeling University Women's Basketball team will play one more time before the calendar year ends when they hit the road to play Cedarville University on Saturday, December 20th, 2025, at 2pm.
