URBANA, Ohio – Four players scored in double figures as Urbana University women's basketball cruised past Wheeling 93-68 on Wednesday night.
UU improved to 17-10 overall and 13-8 in conference play. The Blue Knights need a win or a Fairmont State (15-12, 12-9 MEC) loss Saturday to clinch the fifth seed in next week's conference tournament. Wheeling fell to 10-17 (9-12 MEC).
Tyra James led the scoring effort with 21 points on 9-of-17 shooting along with a team-high eight rebounds and six assists.
Sylvia Hudson scored 19 points and needs five more to break the Mountain East Conference career scoring record in league games. Hudson has tallied 1,498 career points against MEC opponents.
Kami McEldowney also stuffed the stat sheet with 15 points, seven boards and four assists while
Bailey Draughn chipped in with 15 points and six caroms.
Urbana raced out to a 31-14 lead in the first quarter after shooting 75 percent (12 of 16) and never looked back.
James scored 15 points on a perfect 6-of-6 shooting in the opening period.
The Blue Knights led by as much as 24 in the second quarter before taking a 52-31 advantage into halftime.
Over the final two periods, the Urbana lead swelled to as much as 34 when McEldowney's final bucket made it 90-56 with four minutes remaining.
Urbana shot 49 percent from the field and knocked down 13 of 17 (77%) at the foul line. The Blue Knights held a 52-42 edge on the boards. Both teams had just 10 turnovers.
The Blue Knights limited the Cardinals to 36-percent shooting overall, including just 3 of 18 from three-point range.
WU forward Lilly Ritz led the visitors with 27 points on 11-of-13 shooting and grabbed 13 rebounds.
UP NEXT: Urbana will host Notre Dame College in the regular season finale on Saturday. The Blue Knights will honor seniors
Sylvia Hudson,
Weston Minnich,
Jada Love and
Tyra James prior to the game.
