Wheeling, W. Va. – Coming off of the Thanksgiving break, the Wheeling University Women's Basketball team (4-1, 2-1) was looking to keep their hot start going. They got a big day from junior Shanley Woods and were able to do just that as they took down Davis & Elkins 75-68. Woods came within two three-pointers of tying the single-game record and was one of two Cardinals to score 20+ in the game.
At the start of the night, the Cardinals found themselves down 4-0 over the first minute and a half. Woods would be the one to get the offense started with a big three, but Davis & Elkins continued to put their foot to the gas pedal, ripping off a 9-0 run that had the Cardinals trailing 13-4 just four minutes into the game. The Cardinals were once again looking for a spark and they would get it with another three from Woods. That three sparked a 10-0 run that gave the Cardinals their first lead of the night at 14-13. The lead would change hands two more times over the final two minutes of the quarter until the score sat at 18-17 in favor of Davis & Elkins with 38 seconds remaining. The Senators would add on another bucket and the Cardinals trailed 20-17 after one.
That lead was quickly erased as Woods continued her hot streak with a three to tie the game at 20-20. After a Senator layup, Carla Torrubia Cano would hit a three and a Lauren Calhoun bucket gave Wheeling their biggest lead of the night at 25-22. Cano wasn't done yet as she added a layup, but the Senators ended up getting the lead back at 29-28 with 3:49 to play before half. They would then move their lead to 31-28 before another big three from Woods tied the game at 31-31. The two teams traded buckets before Davis & Elkins took a 35-33 advantage with 39 seconds to play. Kenzie Dalton hit a pair of free throws and another three from Woods our Wheeling up 38-35 as the team's headed towards the locker room. Woods had six threes in the first half and entered the second half needing just two threes to break the single-game record.
The second half began with Calhoun hitting a pair of buckets that made it 42-35 Cardinals advantage. Calhoun was held to just four points in the first half, but was the driving force with eight straight points to start the third quarter. Her 10th point of the night made it a 52-42 Cardinals advantage with 5:40 left in the quarter. Wheeling's offense had a big third quarter, scoring 25 points and entered the fourth quarter with a 63-49 lead. The Cardinals shot 50% from the floor in that third quarter, but a lot of their success would end up coming at the charity stripe. Wheeling was 6-7 in the quarter and used it to hemp extend their runs. They entered the fourth quarter ahead for the fourth time in their five games, with the only exception being when there were tied with Notre Dame College in their lone loss of the season.
However, Davis & Elkins would not let the Cardinals run away with this one as they made it a six-point game over the first four minutes of the fourth quarter. Dalton broke the Senators run with a free throw and then added two more to quit wheeling ahead 69-60 as the clock tick to five minutes left. The Senators would add one more layup before the defenses locked up not allowing another bucket for the next two minutes. At the 1:39 Mark of the quarter, Jacqui Hinesmon would go 1-2 from the charity stripe to make it a 70-62 game. Davis & Elkins would then add six straight points and suddenly it was a 70-68 game with 32 seconds remaining. Wheeling would be able to finish out the game from the free throw line going 4-4 and a Dalton bucket end of the night with Wheeling taking home the 75-68 win.
Although She was not able to break the single game three-point record, Shanley Woods still put together her best game of the season leading the offense with 22 points. 18 of those points came from the free throw line where she was 6-13 on the day for a 46.1 three-point percentage. Lauren Calhoun was able to bounce back nicely after a slow start, and finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds to pick up her fourth double double In the first five games. Carla Torrubia Cano rounded out the Cardinal double digit scores with her best game so far putting up 11 points. Kenzie Dalton once again flirted with a triple double finishing with eight points, seven rebounds, and a team-high six assists on the night.
The Wheeling University Women's Basketball team returns to action on Saturday, December 2nd, when they hit the road to face West Virginia Wesleyan at 2 PM.