INSTITUTE, W.Va. – West Virginia State's women's basketball team shot just 30% from the field, including 9-42 from beyond the arc enroute to a 91-77 loss to Wheeling in the Walker Convocation Center Wednesday night. WVSU (6-2, 3-2 MEC) also only recorded 8 steals in the contest, well below their season average of 14.4 per game. 

Anysa Jordan recorded a double-double for the Yellow Jackets with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Imani Reid added 11 points, and Emyah Fortenberry gathered 13 boards. For Wheeling (6-1, 4-1 MEC), Carla Torrubia Cano led all scorers with 26, most of them in the paint. Wheeling also held the advantage in points in the paint by a wide 56-38 margin.

WVSU took the first four points of the game with Caroline Scott and Hannah Shriver both hitting jumpers. Wheeling then scored seven-unanswered points to hit the first media timeout, 7-4. The run eventually ran all the way up to 14-2 in favor of Wheeling, forcing a timeout from Charles Marshall. State closed out the quarter on a 13-2 run to take a 19-16 lead heading into the second. State shot 32 percent from the field, including 12.5 percent from three-point land.

Shooting woes continued to plague the Jackets and Wheeling strung together a 15-3 run that lasted almost half of the quarter. Carolien Scott hit a trey at the 5:34 mark to break the run, only for Wheeling to take the next five points, 36-27. Wheeling didn't score after the second quarter media timeout and allowed State to score six straight. State trailed 36-33 heading into the locker room. WVSU shot 20 percent and 16.7 percent from outside.

The third quarter was back and forth both ways. State got as close as one point down at the 8:50 mark of the quarter, before Wheeling strung together a few baskets to balloon the lead back to eight at the media timeout, 46-38. The WVSU deficit briefly eclipsed nine points towards the end of the quarter, but Imani Reid hit a triple with four seconds showing on the clock to cut it to six at the horn, 61-55.

The final period of the game saw the Yellow Jacket deficit break double-digits, eventually hitting 16 points in the twilight of the period. State brought it back down to eight after an Ashley Davis jumper with 1:15 to go, but Wheeling hit all eight foul shots in the closing seconds of the game to doom the Jackets' bid for a comeback.

Up Next
State heads North to square off with the No. 1 team in the Mountain East rankings on Saturday, West Liberty. The game has been scheduled for 5:30 pm due to graduation ceremonies on the West Liberty campus that morning.