Women's Basketball | 12/13/2016 7:36:00 PM

Box Score SALEM, W.Va. – The West Liberty University women's basketball team scored the first 11 points of the game and never took their foot off the gas here Tuesdaynight in racking up an impressive 109-59 non-conference win at Salem International.
Along with cracking the century mark for the second time this season, Coach Lynn Ullom's Hilltoppers (2-7) turned in a superlative defensive effort. The visitors held the Tigers (1-10) scoreless for more than 6 1/2 minutes and yielded just three field goals in the first 16 minutes of the opening half.
Johnie Olkosky capped WLU's game-opening 11-point run with a short jumper before Dorina Barrett finally broke the scoring ice for Salem with a 3-pointer at 3:22 of the first quarter.
Safiya Hernandez cut the lead to 11-5 with a rebound basket on SIU's next possession but the Hilltoppers' Brandi Beader nailed back-to-back 3-point bombs to make it 17-5 and the margin never dropped below double figures again.
West Liberty opened the second quarter with an 18-2 run to open up a 36-7 lead midway through the frame. After pushing the lead as high as 32 points, 43-11, the Hilltoppers settled for a 44-16 halftime advantage and coasted through the final two frames.
A season-high six West Liberty players hit double figures. Beader led the way, draining 6 3-pointers on her way to a game-high 24 points.
Olkosky also had a huge night, stuffing the stat sheet with 16 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 steals. McKenna Shives just missed a double-double with 15 points and 9 assists while Allie Farina impressed off the bench with 13 points and 9 rebounds. Emily Bucon and Marissa Brown rounded out the double-figure scorers with 13 and 10 points, respectively.
The Tigers were led by Keishla Gilmore's 14 points while Jiahna Flood-Francis finished with 12 points.
The 109 points fell just shy of the Lady Hilltoppers' all-time record for points in a road game. That was set on the same floor on Feb. 14, 2009 when the West Liberty women handed Salem a 110-48 defeat.
The Hilltoppers close out their pre-holiday slate at home on Friday afternoon when they host Slippery Rock (Pa.). The non-conference tilt is set for a 1 p.m.tipoff at the ASRC.