Wheeling, W. Va- Following its third straight win, the Wheeling University Women's Basketball team (10-8), (5-5) is starting to heat up, and it could not have come at a better time. With the Mountain East Conference (MEC) tournament rapidly approaching and set for the first week of March, the Cardinals are doing everything they can to finish strong, so they place as high as possible in the standings to get a better seeding.
The Cardinals completely dominated the Hilltoppers in just about every statistical category that mattered last Saturday afternoon. After making 10-17 (58.8%) from the field and 4-8 (50%) from three in the first quarter, Wheeling gave themselves a 26-14 advantage over their rivals to the north. The Cards only continued to separate themselves from the Toppers with a 10-0 run to put themselves up 43-24 at halftime. West Liberty tried to make it respectable following the intermission, but ultimately, Wheeling played its game for a full 40 minutes to topple the Toppers 78-52.
Emma Reynolds led the Wheeling offense confidently. She set a new career-high of 21 points in the win while having an efficient shooting day as well. Her 8-11 (72.2%) from the field and 3-5 (60.0%) are both career-highs as well, and if you have been doing your reading, the freshman as of late has been quite productive with her shooting. The Bridgeville, PA product has been lights out, making 14-21 (66.7%) of her shots from the field and is 6-11 (54.5%) from three in the past four contests. Wheeling will be looking for her to have another great game in their next outing against the conference's best field goal defending team.
Kenzie Dalton once again exceeded expectations with 19 points against West Liberty. As one of the most dynamic players in the MEC, she has lots of pressure to perform, yet it never seems to phase her. Dalton always finds ways to contribute whether it's recording double-digit points, converting at the free throw line, rebounding, passing, or causing live-ball turnovers. Currently, the senior out of Marietta, OH is 6th in scoring average (15.5), 12th in rebounding average (6.7), 6th in field goal percentage (47.2%), 1st in average assists (5.3), and 1st in average steals per game (3.1). Along with being a top player in the conference, Dalton sits 7th in Division II with 96 assists, is tied for 21st in the country with 56 steals and leads the nation with an average of 38.7 minutes played per game.
Two other players finished in double-digit figures: Hillari Baker and Emilia Sierra Lacosta. Baker has not seen much action this season, only playing in her 10th game on Saturday, but she has been steadily improving. Her showing against the Hilltoppers was her best all season long. With a season-high of 31 minutes, she recorded 11 points, went 4-9 (44.4%) from the field, 2-4 (50.0% from range, grabbed three rebounds, and recorded a block and an assist.
Lacosta on the other hand has been a consistent starter for the Cardinals all season long. However, her production has taken a little bit of a back seat. This is because before the winter break, the sophomore was averaging 15.1 points per game and only failed to record 10 or more points on one occasion during the first 11 games of the season. While she is still serviceable and very much still part of the offense, other teams understand how much of a threat she can be. Therefore, they put more attention and pressure on her. The Buenos Aires, Argentina native managed to record 11 points against the Hilltoppers and despite only hitting 3-15 from the field, she made all four of her free throws, grabbed seven rebounds, and was credited for three assists. Lacosta has always been a high-volume shooter, which is why she leads the MEC with an average of 2.2 three-pointers per game.
Wheeling is one of the hottest teams in the MEC having won its last three games in a row, and it has to do with their high-pressure defense. Against WLU, the Cardinals gave the ball away only five times, which is a season-low and forced the Hilltoppers to turn the ball over 21 times, 11 of which were stolen. The Cardinals remain as the conference's number one scoring defense, allowing their opponents to score just 58.3 points against them on average and holding other teams to a 24.3% from behind the arc, which is also a conference high. Having said that, the Cardinals' offense must be given some credit for winning these games as well. Wheeling has always been a defense-first team, but if they want to win consistently, they have to put themselves in a place to win by scoring points too, and that is precisely what has been happening. The Cardinals have struggled with its range game for most of the season, but against West Liberty, the team made 7-16 (43.8%) to mark the best shooting attack from distance all season long. Wheeling also happens to be a great team at the charity stripe. They have made 79.0% of their free throws, putting them second in the MEC.
With Wheeling riding a three-game win streak, they have improved to 5-5 in the conference, placing them sixth. Coincidentally, the University of Charleston, who is the next opponent on the schedule, sits right above them at fifth with an 8-3 record, and after their last outing against them, anything is possible.
From One Nest to Another
UC took on West Virginia State last Saturday and won in front of its home crowd 63-53. The Golden Eagles and Yellow Jackets battled through the first 30 minutes, but UC outscored WVSU 24-12 in the final 10 to give them the win. The team's leading scorer, junior Paris Stokes, led the offense with 18 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and four steals. The bulk of her points came at the free throw line, where she converted 10-12. Sophomore Harper Annarino and senior Ksenija Mitric each finished with 12 points as Annarino finished with her eighth double-double of the season with 12 rebounds. Harper is second in the MEC, averaging 9.4 rebounds per game and Stokes sits 12th in MEC scoring average at 13.5 points per game.
Similarly to Wheeling, Charleston is a defensively disciplined team as well. They are the number two scoring defense right under the Cardinals, averaging 62.0 points per game. Like how Wheeling is excellent at defending the deep-ball, Charleston is very good at defending shots from the field. UC is holding the teams they play to just a 36.4% field goal percentage, a conference high, so with two defensively minded teams, it will be interesting to see who comes out on top in this edition.
The Golden Eagles are 34-10 all-time against the Cardinals. The two last played on December 12th of this season in Wheeling when Charleston took home a close 56-51 victory. Lacosta led the floor with 18 points, and UC's Annarino recorded 17 points and 15 rebounds.
The Details
The Wheeling University Women's Basketball team will head down to the state capital to take on the University of Charleston Golden Eagles tomorrow, January 28th, 2026, at 5:30pm. The match will be streamed live on the Mountain East Digital Network HERE and Live Stats will be made available HERE.
