Women’s Basketball Battles to Overtime Victory Over #9 Fairmont State - Wheeling University Athletics (2024)

Terry Hanco*ck

• Box Score

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | 1/10/2024 11:25:00 PM

Wheeling, W. Va. - The 2024 portion of the Mountain East Conference (MEC) schedule opened with a bang for the Wheeling University Women's Basketball team (10-3, 5-1) as they took on #9 ranked Fairmont State on Wednesday night. It would take overtime to decide a winner in this heavyweight fight, and in the end it was Wheeling that came out victorious 72-70. The Cardinals got off to a hot start and were able to seal the game on defense in the final seconds of the overtime period.

The game was tied both heading into halftime and at the end of the third quarter and with three minutes left in regulation, things were once again knotted up at 63-63. Rachel Wilson drove in and made a layup for the Cardinals to make it 65-63 and with 2:17 to go Fairmont State answered on a Jalen Gibbs layup. Both defenses would sharpen up from there, not allowing a point over the final two minutes of play to send the game into overtime with the score sitting at 65-65. As overtime started, Fairmont State would get the first three points on the board and at the 2:46 mark led 68-65. The Cardinals would respond at the 2:25 mark with a big three-pointer from Briarley Rogers that tied things at 68-68. A par of Fairmont State free throws at the one-minute mark and they took a 70-68 advantage.

Wheeling was looking to make something happen and they would do just that as Shamia Strayhorn got the ball and made the move towards the paint. She charged into contact and put the layup through the net, drawing the three-point play. With a big free throw coming, Strayhorn was able to convert and the Cardinals were ahead 71-70. After coming up with a stop, Strayhorn would come to the free throw line again with 11 seconds remaining and went 1-2 to make it a two-point game. With one more possession on their side, the Cardinals defense had to step up again and they would answer the challenge. They forced a bad shot as time expired and Wheeling went on to win 72-70. It was a big win for the MEC standings as the Cardinals creep to within a half game of Fairmont State for the MEC lead to kick-off January.

It was a big game for Strayhorn, who led the team with 17 points while adding seven rebounds and three assists. She shot 43.7% from the floor (7-16) and has now scored 17 or more points in each of her last three games. She was one of four Cardinals to finish in double figures on the day with Kenzie Dalton (14), Bryanna Henderson (13), And Briarley Rogers (10) hitting the mark. Henderson was the Cardinals leader from three-point range, shooting 75% (3-4) from beyond the arc As she continues to provide a spark off the bench. Dalton would lead the passing game with five assists while Jacqui Hinesmon weather defense with eight rebounds. Along with the offensive success, the Cardinals defense was able to come up with big stops throughout the night when needed to help secure the victory.

As they have all season, the Cardinals continued to have success in the first quarter, putting up 20 points over the first ten minutes. Wheeling came into the game looking to create pressure and did just that as Kenzie Dalton got a steal on the Falcon's first possession and took it coast-to-coast to put the Cardinals up 2-0. Wheeling would add two more on a Briarley Rogers layup, but it was a defensive battle over the first three minutes with Wheeling holding a 4-0 lead. Fairmont State got on the board at the 7:34 mark with a three-pointer, and the Cardinals allowed just one more free throw before the media timeout, with the Cardinals leading 9-4. They would extend that lead to 11-4 before a 6-0 Fairmont State run made it a one-point game at the 4:04 mark of the quarter. Wheeling was able to hold off the Falcons over the final four minutes of the quarter and a Shamia Strayhorn jumper right before half made it a 20-14 as the team's headed to the second quarter.

As the second quarter began, the Cardinals kept the momentum with a Rachel Wilson layup before the Falcons hit the ground running. They would go on a 9-0 run over the next three minutes and took their first lead of the night at 24-22 with 7:08 to go before the half. The Cardinals would get back on track as Dalton laid in a shot to tie it at 24-24 and, after Fairmont State breifly took the lead back, Dalton was back at it with a three that made it 27-26 Wheeling with 4:22 to go. Wilson extended the lead with a layup to 29-26 and Dalton kept in a three-point game with 1:12 left on the first half clock. However, the Falcons had one more trick up their sleeve as Leslie Huffman hit a three-pointer with 22 seconds to go to send the teams into the locker room tied at 31-31.

As the third quarter started, Fairmont State would take a slight advantage early at 34-33 before the Cardinals hit their first run. Wilson would hit a layup at the 6:57 mark, That kicked off a 6-0 run to put the Cardinals ahead 39-34. However, as was the case during the entire second half, every time the Cardinals found an opening Fairmont State had an answer. The two teams would eat score 17 points in the quarter, and headed into the final 10 minutes with The score sitting at 48-48. Wheeling began to pull away as the fourth quarter began, building a 57-51 lead, their largest since the first half. Fairmont State slowly started to chip away and was able to equal the Cardinals with another 17-point effort but sent the game to overtime before the Cardinals took control.

The Wheeling University Women's Basketball team returns to action on Saturday, January 13th, when they travel to Frostburg State with tip off at 2 PM