CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The West Liberty University women's basketball team moved into a tie for first place in the Mountain East Conference here Saturday with a 90-83 victory against league-leading Charleston at Eddie King Gym.

Coach Lynn Ullom's Hilltoppers (13-7, 10-4) rode the hot shooting of Liz Flowers to a 46-36 halftime lead and led by as many as 16 points in the second half before fending off a charge by the Golden Eagles (15-5, 10-4).

Charleston forged the game's final tie, 72-72, on a Nichole Perry 3-pointer with 5:27 to go but West Liberty didn't blink.

Baylen Dyrlund put the visitors ahead to stay with a strong inside move and Hillary Southworth followed with a steal and runout hoop to key what proved to be the decisive surge.

Kailee Howe scored on three straight possessions and fed Southworth for a back-breaking layup as the shot clock expired for an 84-76 lead with less than a minute to play. The Hilltoppers then closed out the win at the charity stripe, handing the Golden Eagles only their second loss in the last 10 games.

Flowers scored 20 of her game-high 27 points in the first half to stake the Black and Gold to their early lead while Howe turned in another double-double with 24 points and 11 assists. Southworth added 17 points and 7 rebounds while Kiki Simpson – despite battling flu-like symptoms throughout the afternoon – added 7 points and a team-high 8 rebounds in limited minutes.

Kiara Johnson paced Charleston with 19 points and 10 rebounds while LeAnne Ross and Perry finished with 18 and 16 points, respectively.

West Liberty's win forged a 4-way logjam at the top of the MEC standings with the Hilltoppers, UC, Fairmont State and Shepherd all deadlocked with identical 10-4 league marks.

The Black and Gold return home to host West Virginia State on Monday. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m. at the ASRC.