INSTITUTE, W.Va. – The No. 17-ranked West Liberty University women saw a furious rally fall short in the final minute here Saturday afternoon as West Virginia State rode a 33-point fourth quarter explosion to a 99-90 upset win at the Walker Center.

Coach Lynn Ullom's Lady Hilltoppers (17-3, 12-2) carried a 67-66 lead into the final 10 minutes but the Yellow Jackets (10-10, 7-7) opened the quarter with three straight hoops to go up 72-67 and never trailed again.

West Liberty foul problems combined with a tough shooting stretch allowed State to slowly open up a double-digit lead as the clock ticked below the 2-minute mark.

The hosts appeared to have put the game on ice when a Deyahnna Styles breakaway produced the largest lead of the day, 93-81, with just 1:33 remaining.

The Hilltoppers weren't finished yet. Forcing back-to-back turnovers out of a full court press, WLU got a conventional 3-point play and a quick inside hoop from Kiki Simpson to make it 93-86 with a minute to go.

Liz Flowers tossed in two free throws after another turnover and then deflected the in-bounds pass to Johnie Olkosky for a layup that made it a one-possession game, 93-90, with 48 seconds still on the clock.

Trying to burn as much time as possible, State turned the ball over again and West Liberty called timeout with 24 seconds left to set up a play.

Simpson's power move in traffic rolled off the rim and the Yellow Jackets' Trina Current was fouled as she cleared the rebound. Current knocked down both free throws to squelch the comeback and the hosts were able to close out the win.

Freshman Laura Szorenyi poured in 24 of her game-high 30 points in the second half to lead West Virginia State. Styles added 18 points while Current and Shae Hines finished with 16 points each for a Yellow Jacket squad that shot better than 53 percent from the floor for the game and was a blistering 25-of-31 from the charity stripe in the second half.

Flowers had 26 points, 9 rebounds and 4 blocks to pace WLU with Olkosky adding 16 points. Simpson finished with 14 points, 5 rebounds and 2 blocks – all in the second half after seeing less than 3 minutes of action in the opening half due to foul trouble. Kailee Howe had 14 points and 5 assists before fouling out.

The West Liberty women go back on the road Thursday night for a 5:30 p.m. game at Fairmont State.