WHEELING, W.Va. – Hillary Southworth poured in 28 points and West Liberty held off a late Wheeling Jesuit surge Saturday afternoon to hand the Cardinals a 69-65 loss in West Virginia Conference women's basketball action at the McDonough Center.

“It's never easy on the road in this league,” Hilltopper head coach Lynn Ullom said. “We played well at times today but we went through some rough stretches, as well. The important thing is that we played well enough to come out of here with a win and that's always the main objective.”

Trailing 29-28 at the half, the Hilltoppers (11-5, 9-3) turned the tables on Wheeling Jesuit (5-12, 2-11) with a 10-0 run to start the second half and never trailed again.

Southworth, the nation's fourth-leading scorer at 22.0 ppg., capped the spurt with a 3-point basket, a layup and a free throw for a 38-29 West Liberty lead with 16:55 on the clock.

The Hilltoppers led by as many as 13 points, 47-34, after Bri Kamarec's back-to-back 3-pointers with 13:42 to go but the Cardinals wouldn't go away.

Wheeling Jesuit cut the lead to three points twice in the final 2 minutes but the West Liberty defense came up with key stops to put the game on ice.

Liz Flowers backed Southworth with 12 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists while Emily Blevins made a run at a triple-double with 8 points, 8 rebounds and a game-high 8 assists.

Jamie Sobczak had 19 points and 10 rebounds to pace the Cardinals, who also received 13 points from Taneka Lewis and 10 more from Jaila Bryant.

West Liberty returns home to host Bluefield State on Monday. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m. at the ASRC.