South Euclid, OH. – The Wheeling University Women’s Basketball team (4-0, 1-0) has been on a roll this season, and they kept things going as they hit the road to South Euclid, Ohio on Saturday. They opened their Mountain East Conference (MEC) schedule against Notre Dame College and came away with a 70-57 win for their fourth win in a road as they start the conference slate. It was the first time that the team won their conference opener since the 2020 COVID-Shortened opener when they defeated Anderson Broaddus.
Early on, things weren’t looking good for the Cardinals as Kennadi Harris hit a three to start the game. The Falcons went on a 7-0 run to kick things off, before a Shamia Strayhorn basket put the Cardinals on the board. Briarley Rogers added a jumper two minutes later, that accounted for the only two Cardinal scores over the first five minutes of play. Meanwhile, Notre Dame College kept hitting their shots and headed into the first quarter media timeout with a 14-4 lead. Strayhorn would hit a layup coming out of that timeout, and the Cardinals would begin their battle back. It would start a 14-3 run for the Cardinals as they turned the ten points deficit into just three points by the 2:24 mark at 19-16. Notre Dame College would hit another hit streak at the end of the quarter and led 24-18 after one.
The Falcons got the first points of the second quarter as well on a layup by Noel Weathers, but the Cardinals would begin to battle back. Kadie Colebank would hit a layup to start the Cardinals scoring, and they went on a 9-6 run to get back to within three points at 30-27 with 6:10 remaining on the half. Notre Dame College hit another layup just before the media timeout, but Graci Fairman and Rachel Wilson each got on the board and it was a one-point affair when the break hit. The Cardinals took their first lead of the night on another Wilson layup with 2:02 to play, but the Falcons took the lead back with four straight points to make it 36-33 with a minute to go. Strayhorn would end the half with a layup and as they entered into halftime the Cardinals foins themselves trailing just 36-35. Wheeling outscored the Falcons 18-9 in the quarter and looked to overtake the Falcons in the second half.
The two teams traded points to start the new half, but it was Wheeling who would get the biggest advantage. They would go on an 8-0 run, started with a Wilson layup as they got their biggest lead of the night at 46-38. The Falcons would put one more score on the board before the media timeout as the Cardinals were staked to a 46-40 lead. It would be a lead that th Cardinals would not give up for the rest of the night, as their defense stepped up, not allowing a Falcon score for the next two and a half minutes. Strayhorn broke the scoreless drought at the 2:48 mark of the quarter with a layup and the Cardinals were up 48-41 with just over two to play. Wheeling outscored the Falcons 6-2 over those final two minutes and after three quarters of play it was 54-43 Wheeling. However, one last push from the Falcons would keep the game close as Wheeling tried to close out their fourth straight win.
Rogers would hit a shot to start the final quarter, before Notre Dame College went on a 5-1 run to cut the Cardinals lead to 56-48. Jacqui Hinesmon and Henderson would get on the board before the media timeout and Wheeling had a 59-48 advantage. With the lead pushed back to double figures the Cardinals were able to hold off the Falcons over the final five minutes of play. It was Henderson who would help the Cardinals close out the day, going a perfect 4-4 from the free throw line over the final five minutes as the Cardinals picked up a 70-57 win to start their conference play. The. Cardinals won their fourth consecutive game with the effort as they win their conference opener for the first time since the 2020 COVID shortened season.
Leading the way for the Cardinals was junior Shamia Strayhorn, who finished with 18 points on the night. It was the third time in four games that the junior has eclipsed the 16-point mark this season as she continues to build off her success from last year’s Honorable Mention All-MEC honor. The other double figure scored for the Cardinals was Bryana Henderson, who finished with 12 points off the bench. The Cardinals defensive effort was led by Kadie Colebank, who set a new career-high with 14 rebounds on the night. Strayhorn and teammate Kenzie Dalton tied for the team lead with three assists each to round out the effort as the Cardinals improve to 4-0 on the season and get off to a strong 1-0 start in MEC play.
The Wheeling University Women’s Basketball team returns to action on Tuesday, November 21st, when they host Salem in non-conference action with tip-off at 5:30 PM.