CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The No. 1-seeded West Liberty University women's basketball team survived a quarterfinal-round scare here Thursday night, outlasting upset-minded UVA-Wise, 73-68, in an MEC Tournament double-overtime thriller at the Charleston Civic Center Coliseum.

Coach Lynn Ullom's Hilltoppers (21-8) advanced to Saturday's noon semifinal against the winner ofThursday's late game between No. 4 seed Wheeling Jesuit (18-8) and No. 5 seed Fairmont State (22-7) but not without more than a few nervous moments.

"In a way, I kind of feel bad for Virginia-Wise," Ullom said. "This is the third time we've played them this year and they probably feel like they should have won all three. Somehow, we've been fortunate enough to come away with a win every time but they really played us tough."

The game was a nail-biter from the opening tap as neither team led by more than 5 points throughout regulation and the two 5-minute overtime periods.

West Liberty held a 31-28 halftime lead but the Hilltoppers struggled with turnovers all night – finishing with a season-high 23 – and were unable to put the Cavaliers (10-20) away.

With the score tied at 56, neither team scored on the final possession of regulation and the game went into overtime.

Taylor Sandidge gave UVA-Wise a 61-60 lead by sinking 1-of-2 free throws with 56 seconds left in the first overtime but Kailee Howe put West Liberty back on top, 62-61, by splashing home both ends of a 1-and-1 at the 34-second mark.

Sandidge lost her dribble on a drive into the paint and several players dove for the loose ball, which deflected out to Blair Harding behind the 3-point arc. Harding's 3-pointer hit nothing but net and UVA-Wise was up, 64-62, with 10 seconds to go.

The Hilltoppers got the ball in quickly to Howe, who speed-dribbled the length of the court before flashing into the lane to drop in a spinning one-hander and force double-overtime.

Howe put WLU ahead to stay, 66-64, with a 10-foot jumper at the start of the second overtime but the issue wasn't settled until the final minute.

Another drive by Howe gave West Liberty a 71-68 lead with 35 seconds remaining. The Cavaliers tried to set up a game-tying 3-point shot but Harding's shot barely drew iron with less than 10 seconds to go. 

Bri Kamarec tracked down the rebound and got the ball up the court to Hillary Southworth, who was fouled with 4 seconds left and made both free throws to wrap up the scoring.

"I'll give our kids credit," Ullom said. "This was a pretty ugly game and we didn't play very well at all but after two overtimes we're still alive and advancing to the next round. That's really the bottom line in tournament play."

Southworth led the Black and Gold with 17 points while Kiki Simpson had a huge night with 15 points, 11 rebounds and 5 blocked shots in a career-high 44 minutes. Liz Flowers stuffed the stat sheet with 12 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists. Howe added a dozen points and Jenn Mohney chipped in with 7 points and a game-high 12 rebounds before fouling out.

Sandidge and Kayla Carey topped UVA-Wise with 17 and 16 points, respectively. Harding added 10 points in a losing cause.

GAME NOTES

X This was West Liberty's first double-overtime game since an 88-87 win against Shepherd at the ASRC on Feb. 27, 2013

X Hilltopper junior guard Jasmin Kiley looked on in street clothes after suffering a practice injury

X Simpson went over the 300-rebound mark for the second consecutive year. With 725 career rebounds, she is just 2 rebounds away from tying Lena Kalvans for fifth place all-time at WLU

X This was Ullom's 50th conference tournament win as a head coach (50-18, .735). He improved to 19-4 in quarterfinal round contests