Box Score

WHEELING, W.Va. - The University of Charleston women's basketball team pulled away late to grab a 63-55 road win at WVIAC opponent Wheeling Jesuit, Thursday evening.

Erika Rousculp (Worthington, OH) secured herself as the top rated post-player in the NCAA Division II with a huge showing against the Cardinals (2-9, 0-8). Rousculp was confirmed just hours before the game to be leading the nation with a 14.5 rebound per game average. She then made the trek to Wheeling, W.Va. and exploded for a career-high 22 points and 17 rebounds.

UC (6-7, 5-4) tried not to suffer a letdown after a big upset against then WVIAC leading Glenville State on Monday and the first half had the Golden Eagles doing all they could to hold on with WJU. Charleston shot 37 percent and just 1-of-6 from three-point range, but played hard nosed defense to allow just 33 percent shooting from Wheeling Jesuit as the visitors took a 27-26 lead into halftime.

The second half is when the Golden Eagles came alive to outscore WJU 20-10 in the paint leading to a 14-0 run midway through the period. Behind the post play of  Rousculp and the continued attack from a 10-player rotation Charleston pulled away late with 44 percent shooting. UC hit 9-of-11 free throws in the second half to seal the eight point (63-55) victory.

Chrissy Keir (Savreville, NJ) followed Rousculp as the only other double-digit scorer with 10 points, five rebounds and three assists. On the evening the University of Charleston held a +10 rebounding margin allowing them to counter five shots from behind the arc by WJU.

"Rousculp is such a beast on the boards and provides us with so many extra chances." stated head coach Sherry Winn. "It wasn't a pretty game, but we did a good job of following up our big win from earlier this week."

Charleston returns to the court against Shepherd on Saturday, Jan. 14 with tipoff set for 2:00 pm.