After trailing since late in the first quarter, Wheeling Jesuit rallied to pick up a 74-68 victory over UVa.-Wise on Saturday afternoon in the second semifinal of the Mountain East Conference women's basketball tournament at the Civic Center.
With the victory, the Cardinals (24-6) earned their second consecutive trip to the MEC title and a chance to defend their crown against Fairmont State at 1 p.m. Sunday.
"The seniors really led the charge. I just couldn't be more proud of this team for gutting it out down the stretch," Wheeling Jesuit coach Debbie Buff said.
"We were here last year and we just said, 'We've got to get back to the final game.' They've really bought in and they've been really relaxed."
Wheeling Jesuit outscored UVa.-Wise 27-18 in the fourth quarter, getting some crucial plays down the stretch and making 7 of 8 free throws in the final minute.
After starting the game slowly, first-team all-MEC guard Monica Burns led the Cardinals with nine of her 16 points in the final quarter.
"Without my teammates and my coaches, I wouldn't have had the confidence boost I needed," Burns said. "I was struggling a lot and needed that pick-me-up and they were really great."
The Cavaliers (21-11) continued to stay well within striking distance after losing the lead with 4:32 left in the game. But after a Kayla Carey jumper brought them back within a point of the lead, the Cardinals struck back with a quick 7-0 run that helped put the game away in the closing seconds.
In the fourth quarter, Wheeling Jesuit was able to get 11 second-chance points on six offensive rebounds to help shift the momentum in its favor.
"We knew it was a game that was going to come down to rebounding and second chances and things like that," UVa.-Wise coach Kristin Kunzman said. "Something that is very telling about this team is that we were ranked preseason [No.] 10 and we finished third and no matter what happened we didn't go down without a fight. They fought the whole game and that's been telling about our whole season."
Jaana Motton led Wheeling Jesuit in the win, scoring 17 points and pulling down 10 rebounds to go with a game-high four steals. Burns followed her with 16 points and Mariah Callen and Kylie Frizell both scored 12. Chenelle Moore added 11 points for WJU.
Carey and Makenzie Cluesman both scored 15 points to lead UVa.-Wise. Taylor Sandidge and Kayla Mullins chipped in with 14 apiece.
Contact Michael Carvelli at 304-348-4810 or michael.carvelli@wvgazettemail.com. Follow him on Twitter @carvelli3.