Women's Basketball | 3/1/2014 10:51:00 PM
Box Score WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – Sophomore post Kiki Simpson broke the school single-season rebounding record and the West Liberty University women's basketball team beat Wheeling Jesuit for the 16th straight time, 71-66, in Saturdayafternoon's regular-season finale at the ASRC.
Coach Lynn Ullom's Hilltoppers (19-9, 16-6) shot 70 percent from the floor in the game's first 10 minutes and seemed in complete control when they opened up a 32-14 lead with 5:44 left on the first half clock.
West Liberty seemed to hit a wall at that point and didn't score again until two minutes had ticked off the second half clock, allowing the Cardinals (14-12, 11-11) to reel off 15 unanswered points and close the gap to 32-29 in the opening minute of the second half.
"We do have a way of making every game interesting," Ullom said. "It's probably great for the spectators but I've got a lot less hair than I used to have and I didn't have all that much to begin with."
Wheeling Jesuit ultimately forged the game's first tie at 38-38 on a Taneka Lewis rebound hoop and Jaila Bryant knotted the count again at 40-40 when she grabbed an offensive rebound and put it back with 13:43 remaining.
Simpson then put the Hilltoppers ahead to stay, finishing off a feed from Liz Flowers for a 42-40 advantage at13:17. The sophomore post followed with the play of the game, blocking a WJU shot, catching the rebound and getting it out to Kailee Howe in transition.
Howe found a sprinting Bri Kamarec down the floor and Kamarec was fouled as she dropped the ball through the rim. After another defensive stop, Flowers knifed down the lane to make it 47-40 with 12:16 to go and the visitors never got closer than three points the rest of the way.
"Kiki was just phenomenal today," Ullom said. "We thought she had been wearing down a bit the last few games so we gave her some time off the court this week and she really responded. She had great energy today and was a huge factor in the game."
Simpson posted her 13th double-double of the season with 14 points and 16 rebounds despite missing the last seven minutes of action with foul trouble. The 16 rebounds put her at 318 for the season, easily eclipsing Lyndsay Frank's previous school standard of 306 retrieves, which had been on the books since 1997.
Flowers paced the Black and Gold with 21 points and 5 assists, including a 6-for-6 showing from the charity stripe, and Bri Kamarec chipped in with 14 points. Kailee Howe had a solid floor game with 6 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals.
Bryant had a game-high 23 points to lead Wheeling Jesuit.
Having already clinched the No. 2 seed in next week's MEC Tournament, the West Liberty women will receive a first-round bye.
They'll make their MEC Tournament debut in Thursday's noon quarterfinal game against the winner of Tuesday's first-round matchup between No. 7 seed Notre Dame (OH) and No. 10 seed UVA-Wise.
