Wheeling, W. Va- The mentality that the Wheeling Women's Basketball team (9-8), (4-5) chose was to act as if tonight was the start of the season, and they had not won or lost any games yet. With that mindset, the team came out to play against the non-conference Salem Tigers and secured a 60-46 win because of it. Layla Merriweather recorded a game-high 20 points, Emma Reynolds set a new career-high with 11 rebounds, and the team ended the night making 42.6% (23-54) of their shots from the field.
The Tigers would get the first points, but the Cardinals did not waste much time after when Graci Fairman pulled up with a jumper to send Wheeling on its first of many runs of the contest. Merriweather hit a deep shot and a jumper in the paint while Kenzie Dalton hit a layup between her teammate's points for a 9-2 lead. Salem answered back with five points with under four minutes left in the first, but Reynolds drove into the paint to keep the lead at four. The Tigers tied it at 11 a couple minutes later. However, a three-pointer from Fairman gave the Cards the lead again late. The Tigers made a layup to end the first quarter as the Cardinals were ahead 14-13.
Emilia Sierra Lacosta knocked down the first four points of the new quarter, and Dalton's jumper gave Wheeling a seven-point lead, 18-13, within the opening two and a half minutes. It soon became the Merriweather show as she became responsible for the next seven points in the following three minutes or so to give her squad a 27-19 advantage with 3:56 remaining. Dalton closed out the half with four points, and the Cardinals took its first double-digit lead of the night into the locker room, 31-21.
A steal from Dalton sparked the Cardinals to strike first out of the half with a layup from Merriweather. Reynolds stood tall down low and smothered Salem's shot, which gave Merriweather a chance at the line on the other side to add two more points, 35-21. The Tigers were giving themselves opportunities to cut into the lead, but the Wheeling defense did not allow Salem to shoot from high-percentage areas. Another steal from Dalton gave Merriweather another chance to drive to the rack for a 38-22 lead at the media timeout. Salem worked hard to shorten the distance between themselves and its opponent, but Wheeling had an answer for everything they did in the form of free throws. With 1:39 left in the third, Dalton took the ball herself to the basket, got fouled on the way up, and the ball somehow dropped in for the three-point play opportunity. Naturally, Dalton sank the shot to stretch the lead to 45-32. Fairman recorded the final points of the quarter as Wheeling was up 48-36, heading into the final frame of play.
Merriweather once again kicked things off in the quarter with a mid-range shot from the paint. Salem answered, but Wheeling was not finished yet. Hillari Baker dropped in two shots at the line, and then Reynolds converted back-to-back layups to put 18 points between them and Salem, 56-38. Dalton made it a 20-point difference with a jumper after the final media timeout of the game and the action died down quite a bit afterwards. The Tigers ended the contest on an 8-2 run, with the lone Wheeling bucket scored by Ella Hazelrigg, but the Cardinals picked up the 60-46 win regardless.
Layla Merriweather recorded a floor-high 20 points in the victory over the Tigers. Kenzie Dalton finished not too far behind her with 15 and added six steals and six rebounds. Graci Fairman ended with nine points while Emma Reynolds and Emilia Sierra Lacosta finished with six each. It is noteworthy to mention that Reynolds led the team with 11 rebounds, which sets a new career-high for the freshman.
The Wheeling University Women's Basketball team heads up the road to West Liberty to face-off against the Hilltoppers on Saturday, January 24th, 2026, at 2pm.
