Wheeling, W. Va. - After a tough start to January, the Wheeling University Women's Basketball team (12-8, 8-4) has been streaking into the month of February, playing some of their best defense of the season. The Cardinals look to continue that roll on Wednesday, as they take a trip to Buckhannon, West Virginia to take on West Virginia Wesleyan at 5:30 PM. Wheeling's defense has been the driving force to the team's success during this streak, allowing just 51.6 PPG during that stretch.
The Cardinals were out on the road Saturday as they traveled to West Virginia State looking to keep up their defensive success. That Cardinal defense made its presence known right from the get-go, They held the Yellow Jackets to just seven first quarter points, allowing the team to go just 3-13 (23.08%) from the floor. However, the Cardinals were held to just 11 points of their own, and held a four-point lead heading into the second quarter. However, the Cardinal offense would not be held down for long, putting up a game-high 22 points before halftime. It blew up the Cardinal lead to 33-20 as the team's headed towards the halftime break. The key to the Cardinal's success was their ability to limit the Yellow Jackets from three-point range, allowing just one three-pointer all game. Despite a back and forth in the second half that saw Wheeling hold just a 26-25 advantage, the early success was enough to propel the Cardinals to victory.
Leading the way for the Cardinals was Emilia Sierra Lacosta, who scored a team-high 15 points while using the three-ball to lead the way. She would finish the day going 4-7 (57.1%) from three-point range, with four of her five total shots on the day coming from long distance. The freshman leads the team with 88 three-pointers attempted this season and currently sits third with a .330 shooting percentage from beyond the arc. After being held off the board in each of the last two games, it was a nice boost for the freshman to get back into double digits. She is sitting just outside averaging double digits this season, averaging 9.4 points per game, but her efficiency from three-point range has been one of the team's driving forces during this winning streak.
The Cardinals also got another big performance from their other standout freshman Kristel Rattasepp. After setting a career high on Wednesday against Charleston, Rattasepp was back at it Saturday, finishing with 13 points. That made back-to-back double digit performances for the freshman, and the third time in her last five games that she has reached double figures. She currently sits second on the team with 11.1 points per game and holds a 36.8% mark from the floor this season. The girl above her is Rachel Wilson, who was the Cardinal's final double-digit scorer with 12 points. Along with her work on offense, Wilson has also been crashing the boards throughout the season, and led the Cardinals with nine rebounds. She leads the team averaging both 11.4 PPG and 9.2 REB/G, while leading the way with five double-doubles during the season.
As they enter the final four week stretch of the season, it remains a tight race up and down the Mountain East Conference (MEC) standings. After their 2-0 week against Charleston and West Virginia State, the Cardinals find themselves tied for second in the conference with their Wednesday night opponent West Virginia Wesleyan. The Cardinals remain on the road to clinching a spot in the MEC Tournament, with their magic number sitting at 6, and they just sit 2.5 games behind Fairmont State for the top spot in the conference. Wheeling will look to keep their momentum rolling against a hot West Virginia Wesleyan team that enters Wednesday's game having won three straight of their own.
The Matchup
The Cardinals and Bobcats are meeting for the 40th time in program history on Wednesday, with Wheeling leading the series at 23-16. When the teams meet in Buckhannon, West Virginia, they are all tied up at 10-10, with the Cardinals having won the last three games played at West Virginia Wesleyan. It has been a low scoring series as of late, with the winning team not scoring more than 65 points in four of the previous five matchups.
The one exception to that rule was last time out when Wheeling fell to the Bobcats at home back on December 7th 71-59. The Cardinals were led by Kristel Rattasepp, who finished with 14 points, including three three-pointers on the day. Off the bench, Mah Minthe added 14 points for the Cardinals, while Rachel Wilson led the way with eight rebounds to go along with eight points on the day.
The Details
Tip-off for Wednesday night's game is scheduled for 5:30 PM inside the Rockefeller Center on the campus of West Virginia Wesleyan. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
