Storylines – vs West Virginia Wesleyan University
Losers of three in a row, Vicky Bullett's West Virginia Wesleyan Bobcats find themselves in five-way tie for sixth place in the Mountain East Conference. The Bobcats have been led by the junior duo of Rachel Vandertoolen and Mari Stewart. Vandertoolen is averaging a team-high 13.4 points per game on 47.3 percent shooting while Stewart posts 13.1 points and a team-high 6.9 rebounds a contest. In its first meeting against UVa-Wise this season, Bullett's team built an early 24-18 lead before falling 59-52. In the loss, the Bobcats were held scoreless from beyond the 3-point line and made just two free throws. Stewart scored 18 of the team's 52 points while Vandertoolen netted 10 points and grabbed nine rebounds. West Virginia Wesleyan trailed by as many as 15 points in the fourth quarter before getting to within six points in the final 70 seconds. The game is the third consecutive home game for the Bobcats who are 4-4 at home this season. Earlier this season, West Virginia Wesleyan scored one of the biggest upsets of the season inside the Rockefeller Center when the Bobcats knocked off Glenville State 87-75 on Jan. 19.
About UVa-Wise
Looking to halt its first two-game losing streak since early December, UVa-Wise enters Wednseday's game at West Virginia Wesleyan with much to play for. The Cavaliers stand a game out of first place at 10-4 in the league with eight conference games remaining but are just two games in front of fifth place West Virginia State. Wednesday's contest concludes a three-game road trip for Kristin Kunzman's team that has seen the team post an 0-2 record. In both games, poor fourth quarter performances have prevented the team from posting a victory. At Shepherd, UVa-Wise was outscored 21-12 in the final 10 minutes while finishing the game 9-18 from the free throw line. Saturday, a similar story would unfold as the Cavs fell behind by as many as 17 points in the fourth quarter before cutting the lead to single digits with under a minute to play in a loss at Fairmont State. Turnovers and poor free throw shooting proved to be the culprit against the Fighting Falcons as Kristin Kunzman's team turned the ball over 18 times and shot below 70 percent at the free throw line for the second consecutive contest. The senior trio of Makenzie Cluesman, Kayla Carey and Taylor Sandidge helped spur the UVa-Wise victory over West Virginia Welseyan in November. That day, Cluesman (15), Carey (12) and Sandidge (11) all reached double figures. Cluesman added seven assists and five rebounds while Carey grabbed six rebounds and Sandidge dished out five assists to go along with three rebounds and two steals.