Women's Basketball | 1/10/2013 9:46:00 PM
Box Score GREENSBURG, Pa. – The West Liberty University women's basketball team suffered through an 8-minute scoring drought in the second half here Thursday night to drop a 70-58 decision to Seton Hill in West Virginia Conference action at the McKenna Center.
Coach
Lynn Ullom's Hilltoppers (8-4, 6-2) led by as many as 14 points in the early minutes of the second half but foul problems opened the door for the comeback by the Griffins (9-5, 6-2).
Seton Hill junior post Katie Gattuso had struggled to score in the first half against West Liberty senior
Meghan Wiseman but found the range when the Hilltopper standout went to the bench with her third and fourth personal fouls early in the second half.
Gattuso finished with 21 points and 13 rebounds – both game-highs – with 16 points and 11 rebounds coming in the final 20 minutes as the Griffins erased West Liberty's double-digit lead.
The Hilltoppers were still holding onto a 7-point lead, 54-47, with just over 11 minutes remaining when a lid seemed to slam down on the WLU hoop.
Tiara Stossel started the rally with a 16-foot jumper at 10:47 but the key play of the night came on SHU's next possession when Gattuso powered into the lane and banked one home as the whistle sounded, forcing Wiseman to the bench with her fourth personal foul at the 10-minute mark.
Stossel put the hosts ahead to stay, 55-54, with a 3-pointer at 9:14 and the Griffins continued to pull away as West Liberty struggled to find a winning combination at either end of the floor.
Southworth finally broke the WLU scoring ice with a 10-footer at 2:57, cutting the Seton Hill lead to 63-56, but the Griffins' 16 unanswered points over that 8-minute span were simply too much to overcome.
Southworth finished with a double-double – 19 points and 10 rebounds – while
Emily Blevins added 14 points. Wiseman added 8 points and a career-high 11 rebounds.
Gattuso's big night paced four double-digit scorers for Seton Hill. Paige Alviani and Meghan Mastroianni chipped in with 17 and 16 points, respectively, while Stossel finished with 11.
The West Liberty women will try to rebound on Monday night when they head south for a 5:30 p.m. game against the University of Charleston.
