WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – Kailee Howe poured in a career-high 41 points and handed out 10 assists Thursday night as the No. 17-ranked West Liberty University women raced away to an 80-56 victory against Charleston at the ASRC.

Seeing that Howe had made only four 3-point shots all season, the Golden Eagles (7-12, 5-8) decided to sag completely away from the All-American point guard on the perimeter in an attempt to cut off her passing lanes.

It didn't work.

Howe hit four 3-pointers and tallied 18 points in the first half alone, propelling Coach Lynn Ullom's league-leading Hilltoppers (17-2, 12-1) to a 28-22 halftime lead against a UC squad that was trying to run as much time off the clock as possible on every possession.

"That's the first time in my 25 years of coaching I've ever seen a team give an All-American that much space," Ullom said. "I'm sure it's the first time Kailee has seen that, as well, so she was a little tentative at times in the first half.

"She was much more aggressive in the second half in terms of getting all the way to the rim. Once we started putting together some defensive stops, that allowed us to get our running game going and we were able to open things up."

Charleston was still hanging tough, trailing just 39-35 with three minutes to go in the third quarter when Howe and her Hilltopper teammates shifted into overdrive.

Howe got things going with another 3-pointer – her sixth of the evening – and then fed Johnie Olkosky for another bonus bomb for a 45-35 West Liberty lead.

The talented point guard wrapped up the 13-3 surge with a drive-and-dish kickout to Liz Flowers for a dagger of a 3-pointer as the third quarter buzzer sounded.

That put the Hilltoppers up, 52-38, heading into the final 10 minutes and the margin never dropped below double-figures the rest of the night.

Howe's 41 points came on 17-of-36 shooting from the floor – including a career-best 6-of-12 showing from the 3-point arc. With her 10 assists, the talented playmaker accounted for 27 of West Liberty's 32 field goals on the night.

"Tonight was a little different because of the way they defended her but it just shows that Kailee's at her best when she aggressively attacks the basket all the way to the rim," Ullom said. "Not only does she have the ability to score, she also creates great shots for her teammates. She makes everyone better."

Flowers backed Howe with a dozen points while Kiki Simpson added 6 points, 9 rebounds and 4 blocked shots despite missing significant playing time due to foul problems.

Charleston got 14 points from Kiara Johnson while Mya Walker and Chyress Lockhart added a dozen each.

The Hilltoppers hit the road on Saturday for a 2 p.m. game at West Virginia State.

GAME NOTES

X Howe's 41 points were just three points shy of the school-record 44 points scored by Melissa Hammond against West Virginia State on Feb. 13, 1990

X With her 41 points, Howe vaulted into the Top 20 on West Liberty's career scoring list. She's now 20th with 1,133 points

X The Lady Hilltoppers are 39-4 over the past two seasons when scoring 70 or more points.