Wheeling, W. Va. - During the course of their recent success, it has been the defense that has led the way for the Wheeling University Women's Basketball team (12-8, 8-4). That defensive success continued on Saturday as the Cardinals went on the road and picked up a 58-45 win to move to five wins in a row. It was the fourth straight game that the Cardinals have held their opponents to 51 points or fewer and it was a big momentum win as they continue this tough stretch of games.
After West Virginia State scored the first five points of the game, Rachel Wilson would break the short run with a layup that put the Cardinals on the board. After that Wilson layup, the Cardinal defense locked in, allowing just two more points over the final seven and a half minutes of play, while forcing a 30.7% mark from the floor. West Virginia State would push the advantage to 7-2 before the offense took advantage going on a 9-0 run during the remainder of the first quarter. Wilson would account for seven of the 11 points in the quarter, including five during the 9-0 run, to get her strong day started. A Graci Fairman three-pointer and an Emilia Sierra Lacosta free throw would bring the score to 11-7 after the first quarter.
West Virginia State would break the run with five straight points to start the second quarter, and Bryana Henderson would get the Cardinals back in front 14-12. Wheeling would continue building on their lead as they crept towards the media timeout, and freshman Layla Merriweather hit a three-pointer to make it 19-14 heading into the media timeout. The three-ball would be a big part of the Cardinal's success down the stretch, with the team hitting four down the stretch. Emilia Sierra Lacosta would hit three of those four three-pointers, with the other coming from Kaylee Marvin. West Virginia State would add one more layup before the halftime break and the Cardinals would go into the locker room 32-20. Wheeling was looking to keep the defensive pressure on in the second half as they continued to grow their lead.
Sierra Lacosta was right back at it with the three-ball coming out of the locker room, hitting one at the 9:31 mark to make it 35-20. The two teams would go back and forth over the next five minutes, and the Cardinals were staked to a 42-26 lead. The Yellow Jackets would respond with a 5-0 run, but Kristel Rattasepp hit a three-pointer to break the run. The Yellow Jackets would cut the lead to 10 at 45-35 with 44 seconds to go before the Cardinals ended the quarter strong. Rattasepp hit a pair of layups over the final thirty seconds of play. As an offense, the Cardinals put together their best quarter of the game, making 41.8% of their shots from the floor, but it would be the defense that sealed the game. Wheeling took a 49-35 lead into the final quarter of play and it would be their defense that ended up sealing the deal.
With the Cardinals ahead by 14, the defense continued to force bad shots throughout the night. Over the final 10 minutes of play, the Cardinals held West Virginia State to a 26.67% mark from the floor, and did not allow a three-pointer over the final 15 minutes of play. Kenzie Dalton would hit a three on one of the first two possessions of the quarter, and those were the only three points scored over the first three and a half minutes. The Cardinals were held to just nine points over the final 10 minutes of play, but the defense held West Virginia State off the board. They would hit a layup with thirty seconds to go, but the push was too little too late as the Cardinals held on for the 58-45 win.
Leading the way for the Cardinals was Emilia Sierra Lacosta, who finished with 15 points on the day. It was her big showing from three-point range that led the way for the Cardinals, as she went 4-7 from beyond the arc. The other two Cardinals to hit double figures were Kristel Rattasepp (13) and Rachel Wilson (12), while Wilson led the team with nine rebounds. Kenzie Dalton had another big day passing the ball, finishing with seven assists, while Rattasepp set a career high with six assists on the day. It was the third staight game that the Cardinal defense held their opposition to 51 points or fewer as they head into the final four week stretch of the regular season.
The Wheeling University Women's Basketball team returns to action on Wednesday, February 5th, when they hit the road to face West Virginia Wesleyan at 5:30 PM.
