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In the final minutes of Saturday night's home game the Lady Pioneers
were able to pull ahead and defeat Wheeling.
For the second game in a row Glenville's Casey Taylor (32), senior
center of Sinks Grove, WV, led scorers with 18. Were it not
for strong performances by freshman Melanie Oliver (40) and Donita Adams (30) in the final minutes, the outcome may have been
different.
Lady Pioneer shooters scored several "air-ball" attempts, and had
continuing weak-side defensive issues. Wheeling successfully ripped the Pioneer defense with across-court lobs. Tough Lady Pioneer coverage threw off Wheeling's offense until they spread out, readjusting midway through the first half.
While the score looks like a comfortable win, Wheeling led at several
points during first half play. The Lady Pioneers were behind with 3:30 left in the first half and Mallory Menendez (12), sophomore guard from Clarksburg, nailed a three-pointer putting Glenville up by one, 31-30 with 2:51 left.
(L) Rachel Redick (22) fires a pass inside from the baseline. (R) Karina Kendrick (20) 6' forward, of Bay Village, OH, finds
underneath the basket tied up and looks for an outside outlet. (Photos by Drew Moody)
Rachel Redick (22) and Karina Kendrick (20) were both sent to the foul line, dropping all four baskets making the score 35-31. Time out was called with 1:31 left to play in the first period.
Menendez came back with another triple at 1:21 taking the Lady Pioneers to a 38-31 lead. Glenville put the first half to bed up three, 38-35.
As the second half began, Wheeling came back and hit a three-pointer,
tieing the score 38 apiece. Redick answered a Wheeling
basket with a triple near the 17-minute mark briefly regaining the Lady Pioneers advantage. However, turnovers and poor shooting
kept the game close.
Several missed GSC baskets and successful Wheeling free-throw
conversions found the Lady Pioneers behind. GSC picked up the pace with about 11-minutes left in the game, but Wheeling's ability to score underneath haunted the defense. Wheeling led by 5 with 10:29 remaining.
The Lady pioneers fought back and tied the score at 52 with 8:01
remaining. Taylor and Redick scored two quick baskets to take a slight lead 56-53 at the 7:47 mark. A drive inside by Donita Adams increased that by two. Adams scored again at the 5:51 mark, the score standing at 60-56.
(L) Melanie Oliver (40) 5'-11" freshman forward, of Glen Allen, VA, shoots over Wheeling defender. (R) Christy Alltop (24) senior guard-forward, of Wirt County, brings the ball down court. (Photos by Drew Moody)
Melanie Oliver blocked several shots for the night and showed GSC fans she could hold her own at both ends of the court.
Taylor and Oliver would likely give any offense difficulty underneath. Christy Alltop (24) Christina DiSabato (4), and Lauren
Strong (14) and Mallory Menendez (12) gave solid performances, with
Strong finishing the night with eight points.
Redick was held to just 12 points.
(L) Senior center Casey Taylor (32) of Sinks Grove, WV, scored the Lady Pioneers first four points and closed out the match against Wheeling Jesuit with a game high 18. Taylor has had top-scoring honors for the past two games. (R) Senior playmaker, Laura Strong (14) fires a pass to the corner Saturday night. (Photos by Drew Moody)
The Lady Pioneers are 17-2 overall, 8-0 in the conference (WVIAC). They are currently ranked the #1 women's college basketball team in East Region Division II play. USA Today / ESPN ranks them the seventh best team in the U.S.
They will meet Alderson-Broaddus at a 5:30 p.m. home contest Monday night.
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