WHEELING, W.Va. – Davis & Elkins women's basketball erased a 20-point second half deficit in a 66-56 road win against Wheeling on Saturday afternoon in Mountain East Conference (MEC) play.
D&E (2-8) used two key surges, combining to end the game with a 38-8 run over the last 13 minutes, in the thrilling road win. The Senators, who trailed 48-28 with 2:30 left in the third, were paced by a stellar effort from freshman forward
Marissa Berlin.
Berlin, who was matched up against one of the top players in the nation in Lilly Ritz for much of the afternoon, finished with 17 points, 19 rebounds and three blocks.
Jessica Eadsforth-Yates tossed in 16 points, including a clutch three as the shot clock expired, along with two rebounds, six assists and two steals.
Allie Taylor finished with 16 points, 12 rebounds, three steals and three blocks against her former school.
Wheeling (5-4) received a 13-point, 10-rebound double-double from Ritz. Emily Holzopfel fired home 13 points and Jacqui Hinesmon recorded 10 points for the Cardinals.
While not particularly sharp at the foul line, D&E made 15 foul shots compared to just one for Wheeling. The Senators also held a 57-45 edge on the glass.
Scoring was tough to come by at the start as both teams struggled shooting the ball. Banks posted the first points of the afternoon after a steal before Taylor canned a three from the right wing, lifting the Senators ahead 7-6. The Cardinals answered back, taking an 11-7 lead at the first media timeout of the afternoon.
Taylor converted another layup after a pair of offensive rebounds, slicing the D&E deficit to 14-9 before the Cardinals ended the opening frame with a 19-12 lead. Wheeling opened the second period with a 5-0 surge for a 21-12 lead.
The Senators trailed 31-20 at the halftime break after shooting just 23.5% in the opening half. D&E was balanced offensively in the opening 20 minutes despite its trouble shooting.
The Cardinals continued to expand their lead, using several scoring runs to jump ahead 41-25 with 5:51 left in the third quarter. Mohler converted a much-needed three at 5:33 in the third, but Wheeling pushed its lead to 41-25 at the third quarter media timeout.
A Holzopfel three extended the Wheeling lead to 20 in the third quarter before the Senators pushed back with a 12-0 run over a three-minute span, trimming the deficit to 48-40. Eadsforth-Yates circled around the arc and drilled a three as time expired in the third.
Berlin stuck a jumper from just inside the foul line as D&E extended its run to 16-2, trialing 50-44. Consecutive steals and lay-ins pushed the Wheeling lead back to 10 at 54-44. The Senators would not go away, racing ahead with an 11-0 run to take a 55-54 lead. The D&E scoring surge included buckets from Berlin, Eadsforth-Yates and
Peyton Mohler combined with some stout defense to move back in front for the first time since leading 2-0.
Two foul shots from Berlin lifted D&E to a 57-54 edge, the largest of the afternoon for the visitors, with around three minutes to play. Eadsforth-Yates handed the Senators a crucial basket, chucking up a long-range attempt as the shot clock expired for a 60-54 lead. D&E made its foul shots down the stretch to hold on and emerge with the 66-56 victory.
Davis & Elkins returns to the floor on Wednesday, February 10 against West Virginia Wesleyan from the McDonnell Center at 5:00 PM.
