Woods's Big Day Leads Wheeling vs. Concord
Wheeling, W. Va. - The Wheeling University Women's Basketball team (6-15, 6-11) came out on fire inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center and were able to hold on to win 77-72 against Concord. The Mountain Lions rallied for 45 points over the final two quarters, but the Cardinals had just enough in the tank to hold on for the win. They were led by a career night for sophomore Shanley Woods, who hit a game-high four three-pointers in the win.
When all was said and done, Woods finished with a career-best 31-point effort in the game while shooting an impressive 7-12 from the floor throughout the night. It was the first time in her career that she went over the 30-point mark in her career, and her four three-pointers were a season-high. She was one of three Cardinals ending the night in double figures as Jacqui Hinesmon and Lauren Calhoun each added 11 points to their team's effort. Calhoun would also grab her seventh consecutive double-double, leading the defensive effort with 15 rebounds.
After facing a strong offensive attack from Concord last time out, it was Wheeling who brought the offensive firepower early on. Sophomore Shanley Woods got the half started with a three-pointer, and scored nearly half of her team's first-half points. She added a bucket as part of a 10-2 run to start the game as Wheeling took control early on. The score would remain stuck at 10-2 as the clock ticked past the five-minute mark in the quarter before Concord started hitting their shots. The Mountain Lions battled back to make it a 12-6 game, but Woods and the red-hot Cardinal offense couldn't be stopped. Concord would add one more bucket in the quarter, but Wheeling was able to maintain their lead 14-7 as the game moved to the second quarter.
The second quarter was started by a layup from Jacqui Hinesmon, but things would get chippy very quickly. Concord got called for a pair of technical fouls and Woods went to the free-throw line going 3-4 on her shots. With the score sitting at 19-9, Concord would start to come back, going on a 6-3 run that got them within seven points. Freshman Ava Lickliter got Wheeling started with a bucket and Wheeling extended their lead to 28-20. Both offenses were hot over the final few minutes of the quarter, but in the end, it was Wheeling who would head into the locker room with the 37-27 advantage.
As the teams came out for the third quarter, you could see that the Mountain Lions had made some adjustments, and they started things off with a 5-2 run that brought the score to 39-30. However, Wheeling pulled out some of that offensive success they saw early on and built their lead back up to as high as 56-32 and looked like they would run away with the game. However, the Mountain Lions were not willing to give in and battled back to bring the score back to 54-44 as the game headed into the fourth quarter.
As the fourth quarter began, Wheeling would get to work from the free-throw line as Calhoun made each of her first two free throws to bring the score to 56-44. However, as the half went on, Concord slowly worked their way back into the game, cutting the lead to 67-53 by the five-minute mark of the fourth quarter. It would end up coming down to the final minute of the game when Wheeling would hang on for a 72-65 lead. Wheeling had led the entire game and wasn't intending on giving it up now. Woods was fouled with 30 seconds left and nailed her two free throws to bring the score to 74-65. However, the Mountain Lions rattled off five straight points and brought the score to 74-70 with 21 seconds on the clock. It would come down to the final seconds, but Woods knocked down two free throws to secure the 77-72 victory.
The Wheeling University Women's Basketball team is back in action on Saturday, February 12th, when they hit the road to take on Glenville State with tip-off at 1 PM.