Wheeling, W. Va- The Wheeling University Women's Basketball team (12-10), (7-7) were able to hold off the Davis & Elkins Senators in overtime by a final score of 68-63. Wheeling played an amazing first quarter, landing 61.5% of their shots from the field and hit another eight shots in the third quarter. The Senators had a strong showing before and after halftime that allowed them to storm back into the contest, but Wheeling's trip to the free throw line is what won the game, making 5-6 at the line. Tomorrow, they will continue the road trip to take on a top three opponent in the Mountain East Conference (MEC), the Fairmont State Fighting Falcons.
The conference announced yesterday that senior guard Kenzie Dalton was named the MEC Women's Co-Player of the Week alongside Fairmont State's Gabby Reep, which will be touched on later. Across two games, Dalton recorded 54 points, 13 rebounds, eight assists, and eight steals. She has been unstoppable recently, having made nine shots from the field in the past three games, including a double-double effort against D&E, where she posted 28 points and 10 rebounds. With her performance against the Senators, she tied her season-high in points set back on November 15th when the Cardinals hosted non-conference Edinboro in the second game of the season.
Overtime was needed to decide the last two bouts for the Cardinals, losing against Wesleyan and holding on to win against D&E. However, the team played arguably better in the game they lost in rather than the game they won, which seems backwards. Against the Bobcats, the Cardinals slashed .377/.263/.778, but against the Senators, they slashed .385/.083/.640. The Cards shot slightly better from the field in the game they won, but Wheeling is a team that is known for making three-point field goals, fourth in MEC with 6.2 threes made per game, and they are known for making their free throws, second in the conference with a 78.4% at the line. The Cardinals are a capable and very talented team, but consistency will come with experience as the team grows and plays more together. They are sixth in the conference but have the potential to pull off an upset in the MEC Tournament if they are able to impose their defensive style of game, wait for their opponent to make a mistake, and then cash in on it. That is possible, but the Cardinals will have another big challenge tomorrow.
Falcons Fight to Protect their Nest
Fairmont State has been a team fighting for the top seed in the conference ever since the beginning of the season. With a record of 17-5 and 11-4 in-conference, they are tied for third place with Charleston after being manhandled by Concord 89-58 on the road. Senior guard Zaniya Murray led the Fighting Falcons with 17 points while making 7-11 from the field and junior guard Gabby Reep ended the game with 14 points and made all five of her free throw attempts.
Recalling back to earlier, Reep was named this week's MEC Women's Co-Player of the Week with Dalton after her performances against Charleston and West Virginia State last week. In those games, she averaged 19.5 points, 4.5 assists, 4.0 rebounds, and 2.5 steals per game. Her 27 points against the Golden Eagles became a season high for the product out of Bridgeport, WV, making 10-13 field goals, 3-5 from range, and 4-5 from the line.
The Fighting Falcons have a 33-20 historical record against the Cardinals and won their fourth straight against Wheeling on January 7th when they picked up a 76-67 win at the McDonough Center. For the Cards, Dalton led with 19 points and seven assists, Graci Fairman ended with 13 points, Emilia Sierra Lacosta put up 11 points and 10 rebounds, and Layla Merriweather finished with 10 points. For Fairmont, Alanna Tate recorded a game-high 20 points after making 10-16 from the floor. Leila Jones and Murray each ended with 14, while Haylen Cook finished with 12 and Reep had 10 points.
The Details
The Wheeling University Women's Basketball team hits the road to take on the Fairmont State Fighting Falcons tomorrow, February 11th, 2026, inside the Feaster Center at Joe Retton Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 pm. The game will be streamed live on the Mountain East Digital Network HERE and Live Stats will be available HERE.
