WHEELING, W.Va. - - Wheeling Jesuit raced out to a 40-26 halftime lead and held off a furious UVa-Wise rally to claim a 64-59 Mountain East Conference women's basketball victory Monday. The two schools entered the game tied for first in the league with identical 8-1 marks. The Cardinals finished the game 19-21 from the line and received a game-high 22 points from sophomore Indiana University Pennsylvania transfer Monica Burns to claim the victory.
Wheeling Jesuit (14-2, 9-1 MEC) used an 11-3 run in the first quarter to take control of the game. The scoring spurt featured seven points by Burns and left the Cavaliers playing from behind for the rest of the day.
UVa-Wise (13-5, 8-2 MEC) responded to the run with a spurt of its own as seven consecutive points from the team's three seniors Kayla Carey, Taylor Sandidge and Makenzie Cluesman made the score 11-10 with 1:44 to play in the opening half.
Back-to-back buckets by Wheeling Jesuit's Jaana Molton and Mariah Callen pushed the lead to 15-10 before UVa-Wise's Dakotah Turner beat the first quarter buzzer cutting the lead to three after a quarter.
With 8:39 to play in the half, Cluesman was whistled for her second foul with the Cavs trailing 18-12. From that point, the Cardinals would outscore the visitors 22-14 for the remainder of the half to take a 40-26 lead to intermission.
Wheeling Jesuit took advantage of the charity stripe in a big way in the second period by connecting on 10 of 12 attempts. Callen was the big offensive threat for the Cardinals as she netted 10 of her 12 points in the quarter.
The defensive intensity for UVa-Wise increased at the start of the third quarter as Kristin Kunzman's team limited Wheeling Jesuit to just 11 third quarter points. The strong defense allowed the Cavs to cut the lead to as few as seven points in the period. By quarter's end Wheeling Jesuit led 51-42.
UVa-Wise continued to inch closer in the final 10 minutes as a 3-pointer by Allison Ball and a layup by Carey cut the lead to four at 51-47 with 8:46 remaining. Burns and Chelsea Richardson scored consecutive buckets for Wheeling Jesuit to run the margin back to eight with 7:40 to go.
Again, UVa-Wise answered, this time with a 7-0 run to cut the lead to 55-54 with 4:53 to play. Kayla Mullins got the scoring run going with a layup off a Carey pass before Alle Moore turned in five straight points.
Wheeling Jesuit would turn the ball over on its next possession giving the guests a chance to take their first lead since 3-0. It would be for naught as the Cavs returned the turnover favor with one of their own.
It would be the final time in the game UVa-Wise would have the ball with a chance to take the lead as the lead would teeter between one and three points for much of the remainder of the game.
A Cluesman basket with 2:06 to play cut the lead to 57-56 only to see Kylie Frizell make her only shot of the contest, a 3-pointer from the right corner. Cluesman answered the long range shot with a 3-pointer of her to make it a 60-59 game with 1:26 remaining.
Richardson would make a pair of foul shots on the Cardinals next possession to make it a three point game. The two schools would then trade turnovers to give UVa-Wise the ball down 62-59 with 32 seconds to play. The Cavs would get off a shot attempt but Motton blocked it away and Frizell boarded the miss to preserve the victory.
Chanelle Moore added 11 points to join Callen and Burns in double figure scoring for Wheeling Jesuit. The forward played just 17 minutes in the win and was forced to leave due to an injury.
Cluesman led UVa-Wise with 14 points while Sandidge and Carey chipped in 12 each. The Cavs committed 21 turnovers in the loss which led to 19 Cardinals points.
After allowing Wheeling Jesuit to shoot 12-27 from the field in the opening half, UVa-Wise limited Debbie Buff's team to 8-25 shooting the final 20 minutes.
Next up, UVa-Wise will continue its three-game road trip with a visit to Athens, W.Va. to face the Mountain Lions of Concord Thursday. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. and the action can be heard live on FM – 92.1 WDIC or online at www.wdicradio.com
