Women's Basketball | 2/16/2012 9:49:00 PM

Box Score INSTITUTE, W.Va. – The West Liberty University women's basketball team couldn't get over the hump at Fleming Hall Thursday night as West Virginia State turned back a series of Hilltopper comebacks before pulling away to an 88-78 victory. West Liberty's Kayla Ayers poured in a career-high 8 3-pointers but the four-year veteran's hot shooting wasn't enough to overcome State's staggering advantage from the charity stripe. The Yellowjackets hit their first 27 free throws and finished the night with a 29-of-30 showing at the line, far outdistancing a Hilltopper squad which hit just 6-of-11 foul tosses. West Virginia State (10-13, 7-12) never trailed but couldn't put West Liberty (13-11, 10-8) away until the waning seconds. The Yellowjackets jumped out to an early 16-6 lead only to see WLU claw its way back to a 33-33 tie with 5 minutes left in an up-tempo first half. State quickly re-took control with a 12-3 run en route to a 45-38 halftime advantage. The Hilltoppers mounted a series of surges over the final 20 minutes but State's proficiency from the foul line prevented West Liberty from sustaining any momentum long enough to take the lead. Ayers' eighth 3-pointer of the night finally pulled the Hilltoppers even at 64-64 as the clocked ticked past the 10-minute mark but the hosts answered with a 10-0 run over the next two minutes and West Liberty never got closer than four points the rest of the way. Ayers finished with 24 points and 14 rebounds to lead West Liberty. Emily Blevins added 20 points and 9 rebounds while Hillary Southworth knocked down 17 points. Jasmine Blanton and Sissy Wagner paced the hosts with 24 and 22 points, respectively. Ayers' impressive outing pushed her past a pair of significant career milestones. The 6-0 senior from Parkersburg South High School became the 10th West Liberty woman to hit 200 3-point field goals and is now tied with Shay Glauser for No. 8 all-time with 204 long-range shots. She also moved past the 500-rebound plateau, easing into a three-way tie for 18th place on the school's career list with Kelly Easton and Dana Levendoski. The Hilltoppers return home to host league-leading Glenville State on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. at the ASRC.