Box Score WHEELING, W.Va. - The University of Charleston didn't wait long to move on from Saturday night's loss to West Liberty  as they defeated the Wheeling Jesuit Cardinals 78 - 69 Monday evening.  A strong second half by Chyress Lockhart and 18 points by Leanne Ross proved to be the difference for the Golden Eagles.  Charleston moves to 5 – 1 on the season 1 -1 in MEC play, while Wheeling falls to 1 -3 on the season and 0 -2 in MEC play.

A tale of two halves would be present as Nicole Perry would hit three quick 3-pointers in the early minutes and UC extended the lead to12 with 12:29 remaining in the first half.  Charleston grew the lead to as many as 17 in the first half when Perry hit her fourth 3-pointer of the half at the 10:15 mark.  Ross added seven points in the first half as well.  Turnovers slowed the Golden Eagles stellar shooting as they committed eight in the first half and while only committing 10 in the game.  Wheeling cut the Charleston lead to just eight points with 3:35 remaining in the half.   
 
Lockhart had five first half points and two assists and Charleston was happy to see Kali Cuttaia back and healthy as she hit a big 3-pointer with 2:37 left in the first to put Charleston back up 13.  Charleston took a 39 – 26 lead into halftime where Perry led all scorers with 12 points followed by Ross's seven and back-up point guard Kayla Dozier adding seven points.  UC shot 58 percent in the first half of which 7 of 12 from three while Wheeling shot just one of seven from behind the arc and 41 percent overall from the field. 

Wheeling Jesuit came out in the second half with something to prove as Breanna Butler scored a quick five points and the Cardinals Jaila Bryant dropped in four points in just five minutes in the second half to cut the Charleston lead to just seven.  Struggles from the floor continued for the Golden Eagles as they just hit four of their first 16 shots in the first nine minutes as the Cardinals tied the game with 10:52 left in the contest.  Charleston trailed for the first time in the game with 10:10 left when Emily Robinson made a layup driving through the lane.  Charleston only got eight points total four points each from Lockhart and freshman Darian Apperson in the first 10 minutes of the second half.

Lockhart's three point play at the 9:32 mark put the Golden Eagles back on top.  Effort and toughness would not be the reason the Golden Eagles struggled the last ten minutes.  As hustle and strength would push through and Tianni Kelly extended the lead to four with just under seven minutes left to play.

Lockhart took over and got to the rim often as UC headed into the under-five timeout with a slim 61-59 lead and just 4:44 remaining.  Lockhart's 17^th and 18^th points pushed Charleston's lead to four with two made free throws out of the media timeout. Ross put the ball on the floor and hit a contested jumper to grow the lead to six.  Wheeling's Bailey would not go quietly, driving to the hoop and to make a lay-up that cut the lead to four with 1:55 left in the contest.  But Ross drained a dagger 3-pointer with 1:12 and two free throws with 11 seconds left to put Charleston up nine 78 – 69 to seal the victory for Charleston. 

Ross finished with 18 points and Lockhart's 19 led all scorers on the evening.  Wheeling was led by Alex Anderson who was a force in the paint shooting six of nine and finishing with 16 points and seven rebounds. 
 
Charleston's next contest will be December 5^th, 2013 at 5:30pm as they play host to Fairmont State at Eddie King Gym.