BUCKHANNON, W.Va. – The West Liberty University women's basketball team scored 16 of the game's final 19 points here Thursday night to pull out an 86-79 road win against upset-minded West Virginia Wesleyan.

The strong finish kept Coach Lynn Ullom's Hilltoppers (18-8, 15-5) just a game out of first place in the tightly-packed Mountain East Conference chase, despite playing without injured junior post Kiki Simpson.

The MEC's leading rebounder at just under 11 rebounds a night, Simpson looked on in street clothes after suffering an injury in practice during the week.

The scrappy Bobcats (3-20, 3-17) led by as many as 8 points in the first half as West Liberty struggled to find its rhythm and the hosts were able to carry a 40-35 lead into the locker room at the break.

Kailee Howe and Liz Flowers began heating up for the Hilltoppers early in the second half, fueling an 18-2 run over a 4-minute span that gave West Liberty its largest lead of the night, 55-45, with just over 15 minutes to play.

Wesleyan's Mari Stewart, a 6-0 freshman forward, took advantage of Simpson's absence to key an answering surge by the Bobcats.

Stewart poured in seven points in less than three minutes to spark a 14-2 Wesleyan run that put the hosts back on top, 61-60, with 10:19 to go.

The Bobcats went on to open up a 6-point gap, 76-70, on a conventional 3-point play by Stewart with 4:15 on the clock before the Hilltoppers took control for good.

A big offensive rebound by Jenn Mohney set up a 3-point bomb by Flowers to light the comeback flame with just 3:21 to play.

Howe sailed coast-to-coast to make it 76-75 at the 2:47 mark and Jasmin Kiley slipped through a crack in the Bobcat defense for the go-ahead hoop with 2:19 on the clock.

After a stop at the other end, it was Mohney again with a skip pass across the top of the key to Flowers. The wide-open backcourter calmly dropped in a dagger of a 3-pointer to put West Liberty up, 80-76, and cap a 10-0 WLU run in just over 90 seconds.

Wesleyan never recovered and the Hilltoppers closed out the game at the foul line.

Flowers just missed a double-double with 31 points and 9 rebounds while Howe, who didn't have an assist in the first half, came on strong down the stretch to finish with 22 points and 8 assists. Kiley and Hillary Southworth rounded out the Hilltoppers' double-figure scorers with 11 points each.

Stewart led the Bobcats with a career-high 37 points but Alexa Mortenson was the only other double-figure scorer for the hosts with 13 points.

West Liberty returns home to host Glenville State on Saturday. Tipoff for Senior Day is set for 2 p.m.at the ASRC.