WHEELING, W.Va. - - Cynita Webb's put back at the buzzer propelled UVa-Wise to a 66-64 Mountain East Conference victory over host Wheeling Jesuit at the McDonough Center Saturday. The sophomore forward finished with 15 points and 13 rebounds as the Cavaliers claimed a season-series sweep of the Cardinals.
UVa-Wise (4-17, 3-13 MEC) held a three-point lead with under 15 seconds to play following a pair of free throws by redshirt freshman Kalee Johnson.
The lead would be short lived as Wheeling Jesuit's (10-12, 8-8 MEC) Monica Burns canned a deep 3-pointer from the top of the key to tie the game at 64 all.
A possession later, junior Adalmaryz Rivera – Gomez would drive the lane and miss a contested layup but, Webb would grab the miss and put it back in as the horn sounded to give the Cavs their first road win of the season.
The Cardinals' Chenelle Moore enforced her will in the first half as she recorded 15 points and nine rebounds in the opening 20 minutes. UVa-Wise turned the tide in the second half by limiting the forward to a single point and three rebounds.
Moore was whistled for her third foul of the game with 5:18 to play in the third quarter. At the time, Wheeling Jesuit held a 43-35 lead. By the time she re-entered the lineup, UVa-Wise had cut the lead to one at 49-48 at the start of the fourth period.
The lead would swap hands three times with two ties in the final 10 minutes with neither team having more than a two possession lead before Webb's heroics in the waning seconds.
It was UVa-Wise's first road win at Wheeling Jesuit since the formation of the MEC and several underclassmen played a role in the victory.
Freshman Nokomis Williams made her first career start and tallied nine points on 4-of-5 shooting while adding a steal and a block. Johnson tallied 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including the two clutch free throws down the stretch.
Wheeling Jesuit entered the game as the league's top free throw shooting team but despite going to the stripe 21 times in the loss, the Cardinals made just 13 attempts. The Cavs went to the line just six times in the contest but connected on five of the attempts.
UVa-Wise also had a nice bounce back performance on the glass. Elise Clyburn's team was out rebounded Thursday at West Liberty but rallied to win the battle of the boards 30-26 Saturday.
The Cavs made all five of their 3-pointers in the first half to finish the game 41.7 percent from distance, Bianca Lockamy made both of her 3-point attempts to finish with eight points.
UVa-Wise will return to action Thursday when Fairmont State visits the Prior Center in a 5:30 p.m. tip.
