Wheeling, W. Va. - Ahead of the 2026 Mountain East Conference (MEC) Women's Basketball Tournament, the conference released their annual All-MEC teams. After finishing the year 17-11 overall and 12-8 in conference play and securing the conference's #6 seed, the Wheeling University Women's Basketball team had two honorees on this year's list. Senior Kenzie Dalton won the conference's Defensive Player of the Year for the second year in a row, while also earning First Team All-MEC honors, and sophomore Emilia Sierra Lacosta took on Second Team All-MEC honors.
Leading the honorees was Dalton, who earns her second career All-MEC honor along with her second selection as the Conference's Defensive Player of the Year. Throughout her four seasons with the Cardinals, Dalton has been known for her defensive prowess, and she took those numbers to new heights during the 2025-2026 season. She led the Cardinals with 206 rebounds, averaging 7.4 per game, while also leading the team with 151 assists. Her 151 assists leads the conference by 34 assists over the next closest player. She is averaging 5.4 assists/game on the season, and is the only player in the conference to average over 5.0 assists per game. Dalton would also crack the top 10 on the glass with 206 rebounds, averaging 7.4 per game to tie with Frostburg State's Julie Spineli for the #10 spot in the conference.
However, it was her offensive game that raised her to First Team All-MEC status, with the senior putting up a career-best 485 points to average 17.3 PPG. She scored in double digits 23 times in her 28 games this season, while picking up a double-double seven times during the season. She saved her best performance for last, setting her career high with 33 points while shooting just under 82% from the floor. Dalton comes into the tournament riding a hot streak, averaging 22.4 PPG over her last nine games and looks to continue riding that hot streak. She enters tournament play as the fourth leading scorer in the conference, with the top four all being within 2.5 points per game of each other. Dalton will be counted on as the Cardinal leader heading into the tournament, and looks to keep her success on both sides of the ball alive.
Emilia Sierra Lacosta takes home her first All-MEC honor of the season, taking home Second Team All-MEC honors. The sophomore had a career season, averaging 12.7 points per game, to sit 18th in the conference, while sitting 16th in the conference with 128 field goals made. Her biggest weapon would come in her three-point shot, where she was second among Cardinal starters with a 30.7% mark from beyond the arc. She sits #3 in the conference in three-point field goals made with 51, averaging 1.8 three-pointers per game during the season. Sierra Lacosta has hit double figures in back-to-back games entering the tournament and three of the past four games for the Cardinals. She will look to be the compliment to Dalton's scoring and create another level to the Cardinal offense.
With the announcement of the All-MEC honors, the Wheeling Athletic Department has now had 44 student-athletes earn All-Conference honors this season. It was the second straight season that the Cardinals have had two All-MEC honors, after Dalton and former Cardinal Rachel Wilson were honored last season. The Wheeling Men's Track & Field team had the last All-MEC honor, when Alex Rodriguez earned First Team All-MEC honors in the Men's Pole Vault.
The Wheeling University Women's Basketball team opens MEC Tournament play on Thursday, March 5th, when they take on #3 seeded Charleston with tip-off at 2:30 PM.
