Coach Lynn Ullom's Hilltoppers (17-8, 14-5) strengthened their hold on second place in the Mountain East Conference and avenged last month's 85-75 loss to the Falcons (13-8, 11-7).
Neither team led by more than 6 points over the first 30 minutes as momentum swung back and forth in a defensive struggle which featured 7 ties and 7 lead changes.
As has been the case so often for West Liberty during its second semester surge, it was defense that turned the tide on Saturday.
Fairmont's Emily Puskarich forged the game's final tie, 47-47, on a 3-pointer with 12:47 remaining but that's when the Hilltoppers went into lockdown mode.
West Liberty held the Falcons to just 2 field goals over the next 11 minutes while stepping up its own pace at the other end of the floor.
Kiki Simpson ignited what proved to be the decisive run of the game with back-to-back hoops in the paint. Liz Flowers went coast-to-coast off a steal before knifing down the lane for a layup to make it 55-47 with 10:27 remaining.
Simpson went to the bench with her fourth foul but the Hilltoppers didn't miss a beat. Backup post Colleen McCormick came in and immediately cashed in a feed from Flowers for a 57-47 lead with just over 9 minutes remaining.
The lead never dropped below 8 points again and reached 14 points on multiple occasions as Fairmont State – which had won 8 of its last 10 games – went 2-for-21 from the floor and committed 6 turnovers while West Liberty was putting the game on ice. The Falcons added a couple of baskets in the final minute but the issue had long since been decided.
Kailee Howe led the Hilltoppers with 16 points, 9 rebounds and 5 steals while Flowers added 14 points. Simpson had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out with just over a minute to play and Jasmin Kiley chipped in with 9 points, 4 rebounds and a pair of steals.
McCormick and Emily Bucon, WLU's stellar freshman duo, contributed a combined 17 points and 7 rebounds in their first visit to Joe Retton Arena.
Fairmont, which was held to 31 percent shooting (23-of-73) on the afternoon, got 16 points and 13 rebounds from Hailey Garrett. Leading scorer Makenzie White was held to 11 points on 3-of-15 shooting.
West Liberty returns home to host West Virginia Wesleyan on Thursday. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m. at the ASRC.
GAME NOTES
X The Hilltoppers are a sizzling 113-27 (.807) in February games since 2000-01
X West Liberty's 9-game winning streak is its longest since the 2010-11 squad reeled off 10 in a row from Nov. 19, 2010 to Jan. 8, 2011
X The Hilltoppers are 17-1 when outshooting their opponents from the floor this season but 0-7 when being outshot by their opponents
X In addition to the 9-game winning streak, West Liberty has also won 11 of its last 12 games
X Simpson blocked her 40th shot of the season on Saturday, tying Erica Bevington's West Liberty sophomore record of 40 blocks (1996-97)
