PHILIPPI, W.Va. – Freshman Bri Kamarec put West Liberty ahead to stay with a late 3-point bomb and Emily Blevins added a pair of free throws in the waning seconds Monday night as the Lady Hilltoppers outlasted Alderson-Broaddus, 79-76, in an overtime thriller at Rex Pyles Arena.

West Liberty (3-1, 2-0) took a 10-point lead into the final 8 minutes of regulation only to see the Battlers (0-2, 0-2) reel off 11 unanswered points to go up, 64-63, with 2:54 remaining.

Kamarec, who had been on the floor for a total of just 4 minutes in the Hilltoppers' first three games, answered with the first field goal of her West Liberty career – a 3-pointer that put the visitors on top, 66-64, with 2:37 to play.

Alderson-Broaddus tied the score at 66 on a pair of Zipporah Tidwell foul tosses with 2:03 remaining but neither team scored again in regulation, sending the game to overtime.

With less than 2 minutes remaining in the extra period and the score tied at 74, Blevins came up with a steal for the Hilltoppers and Erica Bevington got the ball to a wide-open Kamarec for another 3-pointer that produced a 77-74 West Liberty lead with 1:29 on the clock.

Tidwell cut the gap to 77-76 with two more free throws as the clock entered the final minute but Blevins came up big again.

The junior post pulled down an offensive rebound on a missed 3-point attempt to extend the crucial Hilltopper possession and then was fouled on a move to the hoop. Blevins splashed home both free throws for a 79-76 margin and the West Liberty defense made it stand up.

Hillary Southworth led WLU with 18 points and 5 rebounds while Kayla Ayers had 15 points, all in the first half. Cessna added 11 points and 5 assists while redshirt sophomore post Rachel Bray provided a big lift off the bench with career-highs of 12 points and 4 rebounds.

Amanda Peoples led all scorers for A-B with 19 points while Tidwell, who was held scoreless in the first half, finished with 13 points and 18 rebounds.

West Liberty buried a season-high 13 3-point field goals and forced the Battlers into 24 turnovers while committing only 11 turnovers.

Alderson-Broaddus was able to stay in the game by draining 11-of-22 shots from behind the 3-point arc and posting a 51-31 rebounding edge.

The Lady Hilltoppers are scheduled to fly out of Pittsburgh International Airport tomorrow afternoon on the first leg of their journey to the North Star Invitational, a 3-day event which tips off on Thanksgiving Day at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks.

GAME NOTES

X The Battlers' 11 3-point field goals were the second-highest number of 3-pointers surrendered by West Liberty during head coach Lynn Ullom's 21 seasons at the helm. Glenville State went 12-for-20 in a 112-85 romp on Feb. 19, 2011.

X The Hilltoppers had held their first three opponents to 6-of-42 shooting from behind the 3-point arc

X Bray and Kamarec combined for 18 points in 28 minutes on Monday after playing a total of 11 minutes and failing to score in West Liberty's first three games