WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – The West Liberty University women's basketball team broke open a close game with an 11-2 run down the stretch Saturday afternoon to knock off third-place West Virginia Wesleyan, 69-62, at the ASRC.

“That may have been our best overall game of the season in terms of effort,” Hilltopper head coach Lynn Ullom said. “We ran down long rebounds, won the loose ball battles and held our own on the glass against a very good basketball team.”

The teams battled to a 32-32 tie at the end of a see-saw first half but West Liberty (9-7, 6-4) came out firing when play resumed.

A Chelsea Bradley 3-pointer gave the hosts their largest lead of the day, 53-43, with 9:07 remaining but the Bobcats (9-5, 6-3) refused to fold.

Wesleyan knotted the score at 58-58 on a 3-pointer by Jasmine Brown as the clock ticked past the 4-minute mark but Kayla Ayers put West Liberty ahead to stay with a driving layup and Bri Kamarec dropped in a 3-pointer for a 63-58 lead at the 3:09 mark.

Brown hit a long jumper for Wesleyan to make it 63-60 with 2:28 left but Kamarec was fouled at the other end on a drive to the hoop.

The freshman made 1-of-2 but the Bobcats turned the ball over on the rebound. Ayers made them pay with a dagger of a 3-pointer from the left wing for a 67-60 lead and the visitors never threatened again.

“I thought we handled the last four minutes very well and did a terrific job of executing our defensive game plan all afternoon,” Ullom said. 

“Lydia Bridenbaugh and Jamie Kaufman are ranked among the top 10 scorers in the nation but we made them work for their points today.”

Bridenbaugh was Wesleyan's only double-figure scorer with 17 points while Kaufman was held to 9 points. The Bobcat duo came into the game averaging a combined 44 points per contest.

Hillary Southworth led a balanced West Liberty attack with 18 points while Ayers and Kamerec finished with 14 and 13 points, respectively. Bradley added 10 points off the bench, including a pair of clutch bonus bombs.

“This was a very good win today but we don't have time to rest on our laurels,” Ullom said. “We're looking at three straight road games next week and we have to make sure to take that same effort and intensity with us.”

The Hilltoppers head to Elkins on Monday for a 5:30 p.m. game against fourth-place Davis & Elkins.