WHEELING, W.Va. – West Liberty senior guard Olivia Belknap poured in a game-high 33 points here Saturday but it wasn't enough as the Wheeling women held on for an 84-74 win in a mutual regular season finale at the McDonough Center.
    The win created a split in the season series between the Hilltoppers (8-8) and Cardinals (8-8), leaving the Ohio County rivals tied for second place in the final Mountain East Conference North Division standings.
    Lilly Ritz, Wheeling's All-American post, proved to be too "big" of a problem for the WLU women to overcome on Saturday. The 6-1 junior - who scored her 1,000th career point during the first half - finished with 29 points and a whopping 21 rebounds as the Cardinals posted a huge, 52-33, advantage off the glass.
    The Hilltoppers emerged from a back-and-forth opening quarter with a slim 16-15 lead but Wheeling came on strong late in the second quarter to grab a 37-30 lead just before the halftime horn.
    The Cardinals held the visitors at bay during the third quarter and led by as many as 14 points down the stretch as West Liberty was unable to string together enough defensive stops to make an extended run.
    Karly McCutcheon joined Belknap in double figures for the Black and Gold with 14 points while Ritz's 29 points paced five double figure scorers for the Cardinals, who held WLU to just 36 percent (25-of-68) shooting from the floor.
    Wheeling edged out WLU in the tiebreaker for second place in the MEC North. As a result, West Liberty will open the quarterfinals of the MEC Tournament on Thursday against No. 17-ranked Glenville State. Tipoff is set for 11 a.m. at WesBanco Arena.