Wheeling, W.Va- After being handed a tough loss on the road to open 2026, the Wheeling University Women's Basketball team (6-6), (2-3) must keep its memory short and its head up because there is another quality opponent on the horizon. The Cardinals have another chance to prove themselves as a threat in the Mountain East Conference (MEC) with a win over the Fairmont State Fighting Falcons tomorrow evening, who have been without their star player since early December.
The Cardinals opened its 2026 side of the season with a trip down to Buckhannon to face off against the West Virginia Wesleyan Bobcats. The first two quarters of play were high intensity, but Wheeling had the edge by the time halftime arrived, shooting an impressive 44.4% in the first quarter and 53.8% in the second. However, the Bobcats caught fire multiple times in the second half, which allowed them to pull ahead of the Cardinals and secure a 72-67 conference win at home.
Emilia Sierra Lacosta once again had a terrific showing to lead the team with 18 points. Her total at the end of this past contest is the seventh consecutive game that she has recorded 10 or more points, and she has finished with at least 18 points in six of those seven games. The sophomore from Argentina is averaging 15.4 points per game, which places her eighth in MEC scoring. She went 3-12 from deep against the Bobcats, and even though that was not her best display, she remains first in conference three-point percentage. She has made 34 of her 99 attempts and sits with a 34.3% from behind the arc.
Coming off a career-day against Cedarville when she put up 28 points, Layla Merriweather was eager to contribute in the first game of the new year. She ended the night with a respectable 16 points while making 6-13 attempts from the field. In the four games played since December 13th, Merriweather recorded 64 points, made 24-48 (50%) from the field, and shot 11-26 (42.3%) from downtown to quietly become one of the hottest players on the roster. The Cardinals are hoping that Merriweather can stay hot as they continue to match up against the best the conference has to offer.
Another player who has begun to heat up is senior guard Kenzie Dalton. She has racked up 48 points in the previous three games, and has shot over 50% in those meetings, including a double-double outing in the Cardinals' last contest against Cedarville when she registered 17 points and 11 assists. Dalton remains the best passer in the conference, averaging 5.6 assists per game to put her at 67 on the season.
Despite the last two results being an outlier, Wheeling remains the best defensive team in the MEC, only giving up an average of 56.7 points per game. In its last game against the Bobcats, the Cardinals came up witheight steals compared to their opponent's one steal. This and limiting the other team's three-ball has allowed the Cards to dominate defensively all season long. Wheeling is currently tied for seventh with West Liberty in the MEC with a 2-3 conference record. They have a chance to get back to .500 with a win over Fairmont State, but in this conference, nothing is guaranteed.
The Roaring, Soaring Fighting Falcons
Fairmont State sits fifth in the MEC with a conference record of 3-2 but is 8-3 overall. They matched up against the University of Charleston on January 3rd and fell short 69-61. The Falcons held their own in the first half, but come the second half; the Golden Eagles had their way. Freshman Haylen Cook, a product from The Linsly School in Wheeling, led the Falcons with 17 points to tie a collegiate career-high that she set two games prior against Glenville State.
Fairmont State has been without its top scorer, Leslie Huffman, since December 6th. Before her departure, she was averaging a hair under 22 points per game, and she still leads the MEC in scoring even though she has not been active in four games. In her absence, the Falcons have been forced to rely on Cook, junior Gabby Reep, junior Leila Jones, and freshman Ryan Davis. The Falcons have a deep bench, and without Huffman, they will be counting on it to keep winning games.
Historically, the Fighting Falcons have won 32 of 20 meetings against the Cardinals since 2000 with Fairmont coming out victorious in the last three contests. The most recent meeting between the two schools was on February 12th, 2025, when the Cardinals lost 74-60 on home court. Kenzie Dalton led the team with 20 points, shot 8-13 from the field, and recorded four steals.
The Details
The Wheeling University Women's Basketball team hosts the Fairmont State Fighting Falcons tomorrow, January 7th, 2025, inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. The game will be streamed live on the Mountain East Digital Network HERE and LiveStats can be viewed HERE.
