Glenville, W. Va. - After clinching their spot in the Mountain East Conference (MEC) Tournament on Wednesday, the battle for a first round bye commenced on Saturday. The Wheeling University Women's Basketball team (15-11, 11-7) traveled to the Waco Center in Glenville, West Virginia to battle Glenville State, a team they were locked in a tie for third as they looked to continue their quest for a first round bye. After a back and forth game early, it was a fourth quarter push that led the Cardinals to victory as they toppled the Pioneers 75-67.
After an 18-point third quarter push by the Pioneers made it a 47-43 game in favor of Glenville State, the Cardinals looked to respond over the final 10 minutes. They would get that response courtesy of freshman Kristel Rattasepp, who hit a three-pointer to start the quarter and added a fast-break layup on the next possession. It would start a 9-0 run for the Cardinals that turned a four-point deficit into a five-point Cardinal advantage. Glenville State only temporarily broke the run with a layup, but Bryana Henderson would come to the free throw line again to get the Cardinals going. This time it was a short 5-0 run, where Rattasepp added her second three of the quarter to make it a 57-49 game. The Pioneers would cut the Cardinal lead to four points on two separate occasions, but each time the Cardinals would break away.
With 46 seconds to go, the Cardinals had a 66-62 advantage and would put the game away from the free throw line. Graci Fairman was the first to come to the line, hitting both her free throws and the Cardinals would finish out the game going 9-10 from the free throw line. Fairman would hit four of those free throws while Kenzie Dalton hit five to end the final minute of play. Wheeling would go on to win by the final score of 75-67, with just over 42% of those points coming in the final quarter of play. The Cardinals were the most efficient they have been all season long, shooting 66.67% from the floor and an equal 66.67% mark from three-point range over the final 10 minutes. They rounded out the quarter going 14-17 from the free throw line as their efficient shooting helped clinch the game.
Leading the way for the Cardinals was the star of that final quarter, freshman Kristel Rattasepp, who set a career-high with 22 points. She would go 8-15 (53.3%) from the floor, but it was her work from three-point range that fueled her success, going 4-7 (57.1%) from beyond the arc. The other Cardinal to hit the 20-point mark was Kenzie Dalton, who finished with 21 points on the night and made 60% of her shots from the floor. While she was also a high scorer, Dalton would tie her career-high with six steals on the day, while also leading the way with four assists. The final double digit scorer for the Cardinals was Graci Fairman, who finished with 10 points, while Dalton rounded out her strong game with eight rebounds to lead the Cardinal defense.
Early on, both teams were trying to gain their footing, and it was Dalton who helped the Cardinals breakthrough with a fastbreak layup. Wheeling would score five of the first seven points of the game and, after Glenville State made it a two-point game, Bryana Henderson and Rattasepp each hit threes to make it a 10-4 game. The two teams went back and forth throughout the quarter, with Wheeling building a lead and Glenville State responded every time. With 1:34 to go in the quarter, the Cardinals held a 16-13 lead, but Kenzie Dalton added a three-pointer to round out the quarter. The Cardinals led 19-13 after one quarter of play, but the tables would turn in the second quarter.
As the quarter began, the Cardinals would go on a 5-2 run, capped with a Rattasepp three, and two possessions later the freshman struck again to make it 27-17 in favor of the Cardinals. However, the Pioneer's defense would stiffen up and allowed just two Cardinal points over the next five minutes and went on an 8-2 run that made it a 29-25 game. With two minutes to go, Dalton temporarily broke the run with a free throw, but the Pioneers cut the lead to one with a three-pointer by Dream Cherry and a free throw. With the lead on the line, Dalton would add a jumper before the halftime break and the Cardinals led 32-29 heading into the break.
Coming out of the break, the Cardinals once again extended their lead, as Rachel Wilson hit a layup and Emilia Sierra Lacosta hit a three to make it 37-31 with 7:31 to go in the quarter. As the media timeout went by, both teams added a pair of points and the Cardinals were ahead 39-33. The Cardinals would hold their six-point lead with 3:35 to go in the quarter on a Henderson layup, but Glenville State ended the quarter with a 10-0 run and the Cardinal's lead was flipped as Glenville State took a 47-43 lead. The Cardinals would make a strong push in the fourth quarter and it was enough as they earned their 11th win of the season.
The Wheeling University Women's Basketball team returns to action on Wednesday, February 26th, when they host Point Park with tip-off at 5:30 PM.
