North Panhandle Times

Calhoun Has Big Day as Women’s Basketball Falls in MEC Quarterfinal Round

After earning the first round bye earlier this month, the Wheeling University Women's Basketball team (14-15, 12-10) opened up MEC Tournament play on Thursday in the Mountain East Conference (MEC) Quarterfinals. They battled hard throughout the afternoon, but it wasn't enough as the Cardinals fell to defending MEC Champion University of Charleston 62-51. It was a big day for senior Lauren Calhoun, but an 18-point second quarter for the Golden Eagles was enough to sink the Cardinals. 

It was Calhoun who got the Cardinals started with a layup early on, but Charleston came back to score four straight to take a 4-2 lead. The two teams would go back and forth for the next three innings, with defense leading the way. The two teams combined to score just nine points during that span, but the Cardinals still trailed 8-7 with 4:09 to go in the quarter. A jumper by Clarrissa Francis would extend the Golden Eagles lead to 10-7, but Calhoun and Graci Fairman combined to score three points as the Cardinals brought things back even at 10-10. The game would remain tied at 12-12 with 1:24 to play before Carla Torrubia Cano gave Wheeling the lead with a layup. That was a lead they were able to maintain as they finished the first quarter up 18-14. 

As the second quarter began, the Golden Eagles defense began to show up and wheeling would try to adjust on the fly. After a pair of free throws from Charleston to start the quarter, Fatima Mohammad came back with her first three of the night to put Wheeling ahead 21-16. Calhoun would add a layup to make it 23-18 in favor of the Cardinals and Fairman would hit another jumper before the media timeout. With the Cardinals clinging to a 25-20 lead at the second quarter media timeout and a layup made it a three-point game. Calhoun hit a pair of free throws to push Wheeling ahead 27-24, but the Golden Eagles would come back to tie things at 27-27. The Golden Eagles would finish off the quarter scoring the final eight points of the quarter and went into halftime leading 32-27. 

It was all Golden Eagles once again coming out of the locker room, as they went on a 12-2 run that carried over the first five minutes of the quarter. Shanley Woods hit a layup that accounted for the only two Wheeling points during that run. Calhoun would break that run with a three-point play and Byanna Henderson got the Cardinals back to a single-digit deficit with a three that made it 44-35. Shamia Strayhorn finished out the quarter with a pair of free throws and the Cardinals entered the final 10 minutes of play trailing 46-38. 

Charleston hit a pair of three-pointers to start the new quarter courtesy of Dakota Reeves that made it 52-38. Head Coach Anna Kowalska went to her bench as senior Taylor Cullen checked into the game and hit a jumper that broke the Charleston run and cut the lead to 53-40. After seven straight Charleston points, Mohammad again came through with a big three-pointer and Lauren Calhoun hit a layup to make it 59-46. It was part of a 9-0 Cardinal run, their biggest of the day, as they cut the lead to 59-49 with 1:57 to play. However, a free throw by Charleston's Clarrissa Francis would seal the deal and Emily Holzopfel checked in the game. Holzopfel ended her season with a jumper and that brought the game to its final score of 62-51. 

Calhoun had a big day on the floor, finishing with 19 points and 13 rebounds for her 22nd double double of the season. She shot just under 50% on the floor for the night, going 7-16, and capped off what was a strong senior season. Calhoun was the only double digit scorer for the Cardinals on the night, with Fatima Mohammad finishing behind her with eight points and shot 2-3 from three-point range. Bryanna Henderson rounded out the day with five points, including a big three late in the game. Head Coach Anna Kowalska was proud of her team's effort throughout the season and knows there are big things ahead in the future. 

"I'm very proud of them for what they accomplished this year," said Kowalska. "They dealt with a lot from having a new coach, a new offense, and a new defense and handled it well. We are very young and and I see bright things for the future of this team." 

The Wheeling University Women's Basketball team now heads into the offseason as they look to grow and build off this season. 

Original source can be found here