Wheeling, W.Va. – The Edinboro women's basketball team fell 70-56 to host Wheeling University Saturday afternoon inside the Alma McDonough Center.
The first quarter was a back-and-forth affair with the Scots taking a 9-7 lead at the 4:48 mark on a
Taylor Blunt 3-pointer. The Cardinals scored the next six points to pull ahead 13-9 with 2:40 left in the first.
Ava Haddad stopped the run with a layup at 2:27. Kenzie Dalton pushed the lead back to 15-11 with a layup of her own on the next possession.
Maura Suman hit a triple with 25 seconds remaining to trim the lead to 15-14 after one.
Suman opened the second quarter with a layup to give the Scots a 16-15 advantage and
Kendal Batchik split a pair of free throws to extend the lead to 17-15. Haddad scored at the 7:18 mark to push the Edinboro advantage to 19-15, but that was the last points for Edinboro in the quarter as the Cardinals closed the quarter on a 15-0 run to take a 30-19 lead into the half.
In the third quarter, the Scots closed the gap to nine, 32-23, after a Haddad layup at the 8:09 mark. Wheeling went on a 8-2 spurt to extend the lead to 40-25 with 5:35 to play in the third. Haddad scored a pair of layups to cut the lead to 42-29, but the Cardinals answered with an 11-4 run to close the quarter taking a 53-33 lead into the final frame.
Wheeling held a 55-37 advantage after a pair of Emilia Sierra Lacosta free throws. Edinboro chipped away at the lead closing the gap to 59-49 with a 12-4 run capped by a pair of Haddad free throws at the 3:22 mark. That was as close as the Scots would get down the stretch as the Cardinals held on for the victory.
Haddad led the Edinboro offense with a career-high 26 points to go with six rebounds, two assists and a block. Blunt also reached double-figure scoring with 13 points.
Samantha Baker pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds.
Kenzie Dalton led the Cardinals with 28 points and 10 rebounds. Lacosta finished the game with 13.
The Scots are back in action on Wednesday when they travel to D'Youville for a 5:30 p.m. matchup with the Saints.
