GAME PHOTOS

WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – Seton Hill's Paige Alviani hit a driving layup with just 4 seconds remaining in overtime to give the Griffins a 76-74 victory Tuesday night at West Liberty.

It was an extremely disappointing setback for the Hilltoppers (8-7, 5-4), who had stormed back from a 7-point deficit in the final 21 seconds of regulation to force overtime and led for much of the extra period only to see the Griffins (7-10, 6-5) hand the hosts their third loss in the last four games.

“Our problem right now is that as a program, we just haven't worked hard enough to be a good basketball team,” said frustrated WLU head man Lynn Ullom. “From the coaching staff all the way down through the players, we have to make the commitment to put in the effort to get better.”

West Liberty seemed in control midway through the second half, coasting past the 10-minute mark with a 57-47 lead.

The Hilltoppers hit the wall at that point, however, and Seton Hill reeled off 17 of the next 18 points to take a 64-58 lead with 3:09 left in regulation.

Alviani seemed to have salted the game away with a pair of free throws that pushed the margin to 70-63 with just 26 seconds showing but Kayla Ayers banked in a 3-pointer with 21 ticks left to keep West Liberty's hopes alive at 70-66.

Seton Hill turned the ball over on back-to-back possessions and the hosts capitalized with a Jenn Cessna free throw and Hillary Southworth jumper to pull within 70-69 at the 16-second mark.

West Liberty forced its third straight turnover – a 5-second violation on the in-bounds – and got the ball back with a chance to win in regulation.

Southworth was fouled away from the ball and made 1-of-2 free throws to send the game into overtime tied at 70.

Seton Hill grabbed a brief 73-72 lead on an Alviani jumper at 1:54 of overtime but Jenn Cessna gave West Liberty a 74-73 lead on a pretty feed from Ayers with 1:23 left.

The Hilltoppers got a stop at the other end and ran the clock down inside 15 seconds before Erica Hershberger's driving layup attempt rolled off the rim. Hershberger fouled SHU's Clare Berenato in the rebound battle, sending Berenato to the other end of the court for a pair of free throws with just 13 ticks remaining.

Berenato tied the game at 74 with her first free throw but missed the second, setting off a wild scramble which ended with a Hilltopper knocking the ball out of bounds with 9 seconds left. 

Alviani took the in-bounds at the top of the key and wriggled through the lane for what proved to be the winning basket as the hosts were unable to get up a shot before the buzzer.

Berenato led all scorers for Seton Hill with a career-high 25 points and 11 rebounds. Alviani and Stossel added 15 and 14 points, respectively.

Southworth paced the Hilltoppers with 21 points while Chelsea Bradley was 5-for-7 from behind the 3-point arc and finished with a career-high 17 points. Emily Blevins also had 17 points while Ayers finished with 12 points.

West Liberty returns to action at home Saturday afternoon with a 2 p.m. tipoff against West Virginia Wesleyan.