Women's Basketball | 2/4/2014 12:03:00 AM
Box Score
INSTITUTE, W.Va. – The West Liberty University women's basketball team exploded for 60 second-half points to overcome a double-digit halftime deficit and took over sole possession of third place in the Mountain East Conference standings with a 90-81 victory at West Virginia State.
It was the fifth straight win for Coach Lynn Ullom's Lady Hilltoppers (13-8, 10-5) and the seventh in their last 8 games while the Yellowjackets (13-8, 9-6) slipped to fourth place in the MEC.
Bri Kamarec continued her hot streak for West Liberty draining 5 3-pointers and scoring 18 of her career-high 20 points during WLU's second-half surge but the junior guard wasn't the only Hilltopper shooting the lights out at Fleming Hall as West Liberty blistered the twine at a 64 percent clip from the floor (21-of-33) and from behind the 3-point arc (9-of-14) in the final 20 minutes.
Liz Flowers had a strong game with a team-high 21 points and 8 rebounds while Kailee Howe made another run at a triple-double with 17 points, a career-high 13 assists and 7 rebounds.
West Virginia State dominated the first half, holding West Liberty to 26 percent (9-of-34) shooting from the floor and cruising into the locker room with a 41-30 halftime lead.
Things changed quickly when play resumed as the Hilltoppers opened the half on a 16-4 run, pulling within a single point, 47-46, on a Jasmin Kiley 3-pointer with 16:20 on the clock.
State pushed back out to a 52-46 lead on Jordan Brock's conventional 3-point play at the 15:13 mark but the Black and Gold answered with an 11-0 run to go up 57-52 with 12:41 to play and the Yellow Jackets were forced to play catch-up.
Back-to-back hoops by Taste forged the game's final deadlock, 62-62, with 9:30 remaining but Colleen McCormick answered with a 3-point bomb on the next possession and the Hilltoppers never trailed again.
All five West Liberty starters hit double-figures with Kiki Simpson overcoming foul trouble to post another double-double with 13 points and a dozen rebounds while Kiley splashed home a trio of 3-pointers in an 11-point night.
Lexy Carson's game-high 27 points paced four double-figure scorers for the hosts.
The Hilltoppers will try to keep climbing the MEC ladder on Thursday when they make the long trek south to Concord for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff.
