Women's Basketball | 1/18/2014 6:52:00 PM

Box Score  WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – Fairmont State scored 11 straight points during a 3-minute span in the second half to break open a close game and hand West Liberty an 85-75 setback in Mountain East Conference women's basketball action Saturday afternoon at the ASRC.
   With the Falcons (7-5, 6-4) clinging to a 54-51 lead, Emily Puskarich ignited the run with a 3-point bomb at the 9:38 mark.
   Puskarich had 9 of her 12 points during the decisive surge, which was capped by a Brianna Innocent jumper for a 68-53 Fairmont lead as the clock ticked below 7 minutes. The Hilltoppers (8-8, 5-5) got no closer than 7 points the rest of the way.
   Coming off a 107-94 victory against No. 12 Glenville State on Monday, the loss kept WLU from posting its first 3-game winning streak of the season.
   "We just got outworked as a program today," West Liberty head coach Lynn Ullom said. "We were giving up offensive rebounds on missed free throws. (Fairmont's) Makenzie White got every loose ball in the gym and Emily Puskarich came off the bench and torched us."
   White, a transfer from West Virginia University, stuffed the stat sheet for Fairmont with 22 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds and 4 steals while Hallie Gunnoe added 16 points and 7 boards. Puskarich was 3-for-3 from the 3-point arc to account for the bulk of her 12 points.
   "The most frustrating thing about it is that we wasted an absolutely incredible individual effort by Kiki Simpson," Ullom said. "For one of our players to have 24 points, 19 rebounds and 3 blocks in a game and we still lose by 10 points … that just boggles the mind."
   Simpson, who leads the MEC in rebounding, set a career high with the 24 points. Liz Flowers added 16 points but struggled to find her shot with 4-of-18 shooting from the floor while Emily Bucon weighed in with 10 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and a pair of steals off the bench.
   The Hilltoppers will try to bounce back on Thursday when they travel to Wheeling Jesuit for a 5:30 p.m. game.