BUCKHANNON, W.Va. – Kayla Ayers shattered the West Liberty school record with 13 3-point field goals en route to a career-high 41 points here Monday night but it wasn't enough to help the Hilltoppers avoid a 85-73 loss to league-leading West Virginia Wesleyan at the Rockefeller Center.

It was an epic night for the 6-0 senior guard from Parkersburg South High School as her 13 3-pointers not only  broke Laura Malernee's previous school record of 12, it enters the record books as the second-most 3-pointers in an NCAA Division II game and the third-highest single-game total in NCAA women's basketball history.

With Ayers off to a hot start, West Liberty (13-13, 10-10) led the Bobcats (19-6, 16-4) for the first 10 minutes but a rash of Hilltopper turnovers keyed a lengthy Wesleyan run and the visitors never recovered.

West Liberty was sailing along with a 17-13 lead following Ayers' third 3-pointer of the game at the 11:52 mark of the opening half but that's when the WLU offense ground to a halt.

The Bobcats held the Hilltoppers scoreless for the next seven minutes while reeling off 21 unanswered points to turn that 4-point deficit into a 34-17 lead. 

Ayers finally stopped the bleeding with another 3-pointer at 4:52 but the damage had already been done. Struggling with turnovers throughout the night – Wesleyan finished with 34 points off 26 West Liberty turnovers – the Black and Gold never got the margin into single digits again.

The Bobcats led by as many as 22 points midway through the second half but Ayers' pursuit of the record book became the fans' primary focus down the stretch.

She hit her 10th 3-pointer with 5:53 remaining and knocked down No. 11 as the clock ticked past the 5-minute mark.

Freshman Bri Kamarec whipped a pass to Ayers for her record-tying 12th bonus bomb with 3:45 left to play but the senior sharpshooter wasn't finished.

The game had entered the final minute with Ayers needing another trey to set a new high-water mark for the program before opportunity knocked one final time.

Erica Hershberger missed a 3-point shot but Kamarec came away with the rebound and found Ayers spotting up on the perimeter. The record-setting shot whispered through the twine with 35 seconds on the clock, touching off a loud roar from the Hilltopper faithful who had made the trip.

Hillary Southworth joined Ayers in double-figures with 13 points. Wesleyan got 27 and 22 points, respectively, from returning All-WVIAC standouts Lydia Bridenbaugh and Jamie Kaufman.

The Hilltoppers are back on the road Wednesday night but with a much shorter trip, making the short trek to Wheeling Jesuit for a 5:30 p.m. game.

GAME NOTES

X Ayers' 41 points are the most scored by a West Liberty player since Melissa Hammond's school-record 44 points against West Virginia State on Feb. 13, 1992

X The NCAA women's basketball single-game record of 16 3-point field goals was set by Fairmont State's Ashley Reed in a game against Columbia Union (now Washington Adventist) on Dec. 4, 2005

X Michelle Jones of NCAA Division III William Paterson (N.J.) is the only other woman with more than 13 3-pointers in a game. She had 15 “threes” in a game against New Jersey City College on Jan. 9, 1991

X Ayers now has 220 career 3-point field goals, leaving her 7 behind Hammond for the No. 6 spot among West Liberty's all-time leaders

X With 965 points, Ayers is 35 points away from becoming the 26th Lady Hilltopper to reach the 1,000-point mark