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Storylines – Wheeling Jesuit Game
Wheeling Jesuit enters Thursday's game on a five-game winning streak while having also won 10 of its last 11 contests. Senior Jaila Bryant has been the catalyst for the Cardinals' offense, averaging 15.8 points per game. A First-Team All-MEC honoree last season, Bryant is deadly at the free throw line shooting 85.9 percent. The guard is adding 5.9 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. As a team, Debbie Buff's team relies on its defense to post victories. Wheeling Jesuit leads the league in fewest points allowed per game (59.5), is second in field goal percentage defense (.391) and ranks second in turnover margin (+3.32). In its first meeting against UVa-Wise, Wheeling Jesuit used a 20-point third quarter and a 16-19 showing at the free throw line to escape with a 73-68 win. Since the formation of the MEC, the Cardinals have won all five meetings between the two schools.
About UVa-Wise
Coach Kristin Kunzman's team is coming off its first road MEC win of the year, an 80-76 triumph at West Virginia Wesleyan. Junior point guard Taylor Sandidge passed the 900 point plateau for her career (911) in the win as she scored a season-high 28 points while adding 10 rebounds for her first double-double of the season. Fellow junior Kayla Carey added 20 points as the Cavaliers won their third game in their last four contests. Entering play Thursday, UVa-Wise is tied with the University of Charleston for eighth place in the MEC standings. While the top four seeds in the league tournament receive an opening round bye, teams seeded fifth through eighth will play at home in the opening round. Kunzman's club finishes the season with trio of road and home games while the Golden Eagles also play three at home and three on the road. Thursday's game at Wheeling Jesuit is the second of a four-game road trip for UVa-Wise. Despite Saturday's win, the Cavs are just 2-7 away from the Prior Center and 1-7 in league play. To win its second consecutive road game, the team may turn to senior Blair Harding. The Baltimore native scored 17 points, grabbed four rebounds and handed out five assists in just 27 minutes of play in UVa-Wise's first meeting against Wheeling Jesuit. The Cavs'  interior defense will be tested Thursday, in the first meeting the Cardinals scored 44 points in the paint in addition to their 19 free throw attempts. Saturday UVa-Wise will visit nationally ranked West Liberty University in a 2 p.m. tip-off.