WHEELING, W.Va. – The No. 13-ranked West Liberty University women's basketball team took control ofThursday's showdown with Ohio County rival Wheeling Jesuit with an extended third-quarter run and held on down the stretch for a 69-64 victory at the McDonough Center.

It was the 14th straight win for Coach Lynn Ullom's Mountain East Conference-leading Hilltoppers (16-1, 11-0), who now hold a two-game lead over the second-place Cardinals (14-3, 9-2) at the midway point of the MEC schedule.

West Liberty trailed by as many as 10 points in the first half and found themselves on the short end of a 37-29 deficit when WJU's Jaana Motton opened the third quarter with a power move to the hoop.

That turned out to be the hosts' last basket for nearly seven minutes as the Black and Gold – spurred by the return of senior post Kiki Simpson after sitting out much of the first half with foul problems – turned up the defensive heat.

"I thought we came out and imposed our will a little bit," Ullom said. "I was disappointed with the way we played in the first half but I was very proud of the way our girls responded in the second half. We played with great intensity, purpose and determination."

Liz Flowers answered Motton's hoop with a quick 3-pointer and the Hilltoppers were off on a decisive 21-3 run which carried all the way to the final two minutes of the third quarter.

Simpson, an athletic 5-11 post who leads the nation in field goal percentage, scored 10 of the 21 points during that surge while policing the paint and sweeping the glass at both ends as West Liberty slammed the door on the Cardinal offense.

"Kiki has played that way for us every night," Ullom said. "She gives 100 percent effort at all times and is absolutely invaluable. She gets overlooked a lot but I think you could make a strong case for her as the MEC Player of the Year. I'm just going to enjoy coaching her for another 15-20 games."

Another Flowers 3-pointer put an exclamation point on the game-changing run and gave West Liberty a 50-40 lead with 1:45 remaining in the third quarter.

The Hilltoppers led by as many as 12 points in the fourth quarter before a late Cardinal run trimmed the deficit to 64-62 with 1:08 to play.

Emily Bucon drained a pair of clutch free throws for a 66-62 West Liberty edge with 48 seconds left but Jaila Bryant answered quickly for the hosts, making it 66-64 at the 41-second mark.

Wheeling Jesuit wouldn't score again, however, as WLU closed out the game with three more defensive stops while tacking on a trio of charity tosses to pad the final margin.

Flowers led all scorers with 23 points – including five 3-pointers – while Simpson stuffed the stat sheet with 18 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Kailee Howe had another strong game with 12 points and a game-high 8 assists while Bucon came off the bench with 7 points and 5 assists.

Bryant led WJU with 20 points while Mariah Callen and Kylie Frizzell added 11 each in a losing cause.

The Hilltoppers return to action Saturday afternoon when they host Notre Dame (Ohio). Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. at the ASRC.