Wheeling, W. Va- On Saturday afternoon, the Wheeling University Women's Basketball team (8-8), (4-5) knocked off the Mountain East Conference's (MEC) top team, the Glenville State Lady Pioneers, 69-66. It was a back-and-forth affair for the entirety of the contest, but Wheeling made its shots count when they mattered most and walked out of the Waco Center with the upset victory. Now, the Cardinals will take a breather from MEC competition with a contest against the non-conference Salem Tigers tomorrow afternoon but will return to conference play for the rest of the season.
Layla Merriweather had another fantastic showing against GSU on Saturday afternoon. Her 27-point performance was a game-high as she finished with a .588 (10-17) field goal percentage while cashing in on all five of her free throw attempts. Over the past two contests, Merriweather has recorded 44 points, has accumulated a .447 (17-38) field goal percentage, and has made seven of her eight attempts at the charity stripe.
Emilia Sierra Lacosta bounced back with 14 points against the Lady Pioneers after only finishing with six points in the game prior. Lacosta shot well, making five of 11 (.454) from the field and sinking four of eight (.500) from distance. She averages the most amount of three-pointers per game in the conference, averaging 2.4 in each contest. On the season, Lacosta is .333 (39-117) from behind the arc, proving that she is the go-to threat from range for the Cardinals.
Graci Fairman was the third Cardinal to finish in double figures against Glenville State. She shot exceptionally well from the field, making four of eight, and hit both of her free throws. Fairman has been a solid depth piece for the Cardinals, and her presence is essential to the team. She is fifth in the MEC in minutes played per game, averaging 35.0 per contest.
Wheeling went bucket-for-bucket with the best team in the conference and came out on top. It was a battle between the best offense and the best defense, and the MEC's leading scoring defense got the job done. The Cardinals took a team that averaged 86.2 points per game and held to just 66 points. The Wheeling offense has not been much to highlight, only averaging 63.3 points per game and a team shooting percentage of .397, but the Cardinals shot the ball extremely well against the Lady Pioneers. The .532 field goal percentage is the best the team has shot all season long and its .400 from three-point land is the second best showing. Wheeling has the tools to accumulate wins, but it all comes down to execution, and that is precisely what they did against Glenville State.
Looking into the Tiger Cage
Salem will come into this next contest against Wheeling having lost its last 10 games and is 1-13 on the season. The only game the Tigers won came against the University of Cincinnati-Clermont, a school that plays in the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA), 97-75 on December 1st, 2025. The Tigers fell to Fairmont State 75-55 in its last game on the 17th . Three Tigers finished with 10 or more points; senior Batoul Khaleefah ended with 11 while sophomore Akhia Miller and redshirt freshman Selena Frost recorded 10. Salem's leading scorer, junior Nakayla Green, is averaging 10.0 points per game.
Wheeling is 27-1 all-time against Salem. The last contest was this season on December 6th, 2025, when the Cardinals won 67-27 on the road. Fairman led the floor with 19 points, Lacosta finished with 18, and Dalton ended with 13.
The Details
The Wheeling University Women's Basketball team hosts the Salem Tigers tomorrow, January 21st, 2026, inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30pm. The game will be livestreamed on the Mountain East Digital Network HERE and Live Stats will be available HERE.
