Wheeling, W. Va- After a closely contested first half, the Wheeling University Women's Basketball team (11-9), (6-6) exploded out of the locker room, outscoring West Virginia State 38-18 to coast to a 61-40 victory, marking their sixth Mountain East Conference (MEC) win this season. Wheeling shot a combined 55.1% (16-29) in the second half and was 42.4% (25-59) from the floor during the contest. The Cardinals will look to replicate their success when they take on one of the MEC's most formidable opponents: the West Viginia Wesleyan Bobcats.
Following her lowest number of points scored this season against Charleston, Kenzie Dalton spearheaded the Cardinal offense with 23 points while making half of her attempts (9-18) from the field against West Virginia State on Saturday afternoon. Dalton played well on the defensive side of the ball to no one's surprise, recording seven rebounds and seven steals. Dalton averages 3.3 steals a night, placing her 17th in Division II and her 66 total steals slots her 13th in the nation, making her a favorite to earn the conference's Defensive Player of the Year Award for the second straight year.
Against the Yellow Jackets, Emilia Sierra Lacosta dropped 15 points, making five shots from the field and going 4-4 at the line. The sophomore has yet to miss a free throw in the past three games, sinking all 13 of her attempts from the line. She has made 38-46 (82.6%) of her free throws so far this season and is second on the Cardinals for players with at least 15 attempts.
Emma Reynolds has continued to impress in her first year in the league. Despite only scoring six points against the Yellow Jackets, she made all three of her shots from the field. Over the past five outings, Reynolds has only missed nine shots and is 69.0% from the field. Her patience to wait for the best shots has paid off immensely, and her consistency down low helped the Cardinals double the Yellow Jackets' points in the paint, 42-22.
Even though Wheeling is in the middle of the MEC standings in 6th place, the team has gotten much better over the course of the season. The Cardinals have consistently been the conference's best scoring defense and the best three-point defense, but not many understand just how excellent of a free throw team Wheeling is. The Cardinals are 79.7% (220-276) from the charity stripe, which is good enough for eighth in the country. This squad has the talent and capability to go places, but it will all be dependent on poise and execution to pull away with wins down the stretch.
Wesleyan Wins, A Lot
The Bobcats are currently tied for third in the MEC standings with a 9-3 record and are 12-4 overall. West Virginia Wesleyan extended its winning streak to five in a row after a 65-46 road win against Point Park on January 30th. Senior forward Emma Witt led the floor with 21 points while making eight shots from the floor and finished with seven rebounds and four steals. Junior guard Sydney Baird ended with 16 points and freshman Allie Daniels recorded 10 points and 13 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season.
The Bobcats have recently become one of the top teams in the league as of a couple years ago and have so many weapons in their arsenal. Witt is a top talent among MEC players, leading the conference with an average of nearly 20 points a night and makes 56.4% of her shots from the field. Freshman Kilah Dandridge is second on the team in scoring and fifth in conference scoring with an average of 16.3 points a night. Baird is the primary playmaker for the Bobcats, averaging 4.6 assists per game and is behind Dalton in the category.
Wesleyan leads the MEC with an average field goal percentage about 52% and is the best three-point shooting team, making roughly 36% of their shots from behind the arc. They are also averaging 78.0 points a night, which makes them the second-best scoring offense in the conference. The Bobcats can play defense as well, only surrendering 66.5 points on average to their opponents, good for third best.
Wheeling is 23-18 against Wesleyan all-time. However, the Bobcats have been victorious in the past three contests with the most recent one coming earlier this season in Buckhannon, W. Va, when they came out on top with a 72-67 win over the Cards. Lacosta, Layla Merriweather, and Dalton each finished with 15 or more points for Wheeling while Witt finished with 20, Dandridge with 18, and Avery Childers with 13.
The Details
The Wheeling University Women's Basketball team hosts the West Virginia Wesleyan Bobcats tomorrow, February 4th, 2026. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30pm inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center. The game will be streamed live on the Mountain East Digital Network HERE and Live Stats will be available HERE.
