Wheeling, W. Va. - The road to the 2025 Mountain East Conference (MEC) Tournament continued for Wheeling Women's Basketball (13-10, 9-6) Wednesday night as the Cardinals welcomed in MEC leading Fairmont State. It was a slow start for the Cardinals that would ultimately sink them on the day as they fell to the Falcons 74-60. The Cardinals ramped it up as the game went on, scoring more points in each of the four quarters, but it wasn't enough as they dropped their sixth conference game of the season.
Leading the way for the Cardinals was junior Kenzie Dalton, who put up a season-high 20 points, while leading the passing game with seven assists. Dalton was all over the court, leading the defensive effort with four steals on the day, while being the team's most efficient shooter, going 8-13 (61.5%) from the floor. She was one of three Cardinals that would hit double figures on the day, with Rachel Wilson (11) and Bryana Henderson (10) each hitting the mark on the day. Wilson led the rebounding game, picking up nine, while Kristel Rattasepp finished right behind Dalton with three steals of her own. The Cardinals shot 37% from the floor on the day, but stepped up in the second half, making 50% of their shots in the comeback attempt.
It took two minutes for the first points of the game to be scored, as each team went 1-2 from the free throw line and the score sat at 1-1 with seven minutes to go in the quarter. The early tie would not last long as the Falcons went on an 11-0 run spanning the next minute and a half and things suddenly ballooned to 12-1. Another Cardinal free throw from Kenzie Dalton slowed the run, but Fairmont State was able to go up 18-2 before the Cardinals got anything going. With 2:21 to go, Dalton would make the team's first layup of the day, and added another just thirty seconds later to round out the first quarter scoring. Wheeling found themselves trailing 19-6 as the final buzzer sounded, and they had to go to work over the next three quarters.
Defense once again reigned supreme in the early part of the second quarter, with neither team once again scoring for the first two and a half minutes. This time, it was the Cardinals who would strike first, thanks to a jumper from Layla Merriweather. However, Fairmont State responded with a three and it wasn't until three minutes later that MErriweather got the Cardinals back on the board with a jumper. Fairmont State extended their lead to 27-12 before the Cardinals got going at the end of the half. Emilia Sierra Lacosta would get things going with a three-pointer, and Dalton followed with a layup that made it a seven-point game. Rachel Wilson would finish the run at 10-0 with a layup and the teams headed into halftime with Fairmont State leading 27-22.
As they came out of the half, Fairmont State would hit another run, scoring a 5-2 run that put them ahead 32-24. Dalton would get the Cardinals lone two during the run, and broke the run with another layup. As Fairmont State reached the 40-point mark, Bryana Henderson hit a three-pointer and a layup for Dalton would get them back to single digit deficit at 44-35. It would be the quarter of Dalton, with the junior scoring seven of her 20 points in the quarter and gave her team momentum. Kaylee Marvin woudl end the quarter with a layup that got Wheeling to the 40 point mark, but Fairmont State scored the final four of the quarter and led 50-40 heading into the final 10 minutes.
Relaxing as well, it was graduate student Bryanna Henderson who got the Cardinals going with a 3-pointer. It was the first of three three-pointers for the Cardinals in the quarter, who shot 50% from beyond the arc and would put up a game high 20 points over the final 10 minutes. They have the Falcons and striking distance, he is close as 56-50 on a pair of Wilson free throws with 6:49 to play. However, it would be an 8-0 run for Fairmont State that put the nail In the coffin as they send their lead to 66-50. Wilson added four points on free throws over the final 5 minutes, while Henderson and Emilia Sierra Lacosta each hit threes during the span. In the end, the comeback would fall short as Wheeling fell 74-60.
The Wheeling University Women's Basketball team return to action on Saturday, February 15th, when they hit the road to face Frostburg State with tip off at 2 PM
