West Liberty, W. Va. – The 2024-2025 season came to an end on Saturday as the Wheeling University Women's Basketball team (17-11, 13-7) made their way up to the Hilltop. They wrapped up their season series of "The Battle for Wheeling" against West Liberty, coming away with a 74-55 win. With the victory, the Cardinals clinched the #3 seed in the 2025 MEC Tournament and will play in the 2:30 PM game on Thursday, March 6th, at WesBanco Arena.
The Cardinals would win the opening tip-off and Rachel Wilson would get them in the board with a layup. It was the start of a 6-0 run for the Cardinals over the first two minutes, where Wilson was responsible for four of the six points. After a brief pause in the run on a Hilltopper's layup, the Cardinals would be back on the offensive, this time scoring ten straight points that pushed their lead to 16-2 by the media timeout. Bryana Henderson would fuel the run with six of the 10 points as the Cardinals control the game early. Over the final five minuresOd the quarter, West Liberty would begin to battle back, outscoring Wheeling 11-5. Wilson and Emilia Sierra Lacosta each accounted for the final four points and the Cardinals led 20-13 after one quarter of play.
As the second quarter began, the Hilltoppers continued to battle back, getting as close as 22-17 over the first thirty seconds of the quarter. Kaylee Marvin would break the run with a layup and Kenzie Dalton added a layup of her own that made it a 26-17 game. However, the Hilltopper comeback continued as they made it a 28-25 game with 5:32 to go before the half as the Cardinals were on their heels. It would end up being a give and take for the rest of the quarter, and with 1:46 to go, Wheeling had the upper hand at 33-30. The Cardinals would get back on the board before the half, with Henderson hitting a layup that made it a 35-30 affair. However, in the final seconds of the half, the Hilltoppers got to the charity stripe with Karli Anker hitting a pair. It would send the game into halftime with Wheeling leading 35-32.
The Cardinal shooters were at their best early on, shooting 47% and 43% from the floor respectively in the first two quarters. As she did in the first half, Wilson would start the scoring with a layup, but West Liberty ended up scoring five of the first seven points to tie the game at 37-37. Kristel Rattasepp would keep the Cardinals in front with a layup and Wilson answered another West Liberty response. Sierra Lacosta was next with a layup and the Cardinals defense would go on lockdown mode over the next five minutes. Wheeling would be sent on a 15-0 run during that time that put the game out of reach at 56-39. After starting the run, Rattasepp would lead the Cardinals with five points on the run while Wilson added four. The Cardinals scored a game-high 22 points in the quarter and were in the driver's seat heading into the fourth leading 57-42.
After breaking out in the third, the Cardinal offense was held off the board for the next four minutes, with two Hilltopper buckets accounting for the scoring. Kaylee Marvin would hit the first Cardinal bucket of the half and Henderson added a pair of free throws to put the Cardinals over the 60-point mark. Rattasepp would hit the final three-poonter for the Cardinals with just over three minutes to play, and Wheeling would finish things up from the free throw line. They would go 6-6 from the charity stripe as they wrapped up the day with a 74-55 win. It was the 10th time this season that the Cardinals have held a team to 55 points of less in a game as they clinch the #3 seed in the MEC Tournament.
Leading the way for the Cardinals was Rachel 28)#9!, who finished with 20 points on the night, while adding four rebounds. She was efficient from the floor, making nine of her 13 shots and provided a strong presence on the floor for the Cardinals. Wheeling had four players reach double figures on the day with Bryana Henderson (17), Kristel Rattasepp (11), and Kaylee Marvin (10) each hitting the mark. Marvin would lead the defensive effort, finishing with nine rebounds and was one rebound away from a double-double. Rattasepp led the passing game with three assists while adding seven rebounds on the night.
The Wheeling University Women's Basketball team will open MEC Tournament Play on Thursday, March 6th when they take on #6 Glenville State with tip-off at 2:30 PM.
