BUCKHANNON, W.Va. – Kiki Simpson scored a career-high 26 points and the No. 16-ranked West Liberty women dominated the second half in romping to an 86-56 blowout of West Virginia Wesleyan at the Rockefeller Center.

Simpson tallied 17 of her career-high point total after intermission as Coach Lynn Ullom's Hilltoppers (22-3, 17-2) stormed back from a 42-41 halftime deficit to complete the season sweep of the homestanding Bobcats (6-17, 4-15).

West Liberty seemed ready to wrap things up early as the Black and Gold came out smoking from the opening tap. A 15-4 WLU run midway through the opening stanza sent the visitors into the second quarter with a commanding 27-11 lead.

Wesleyan turned the tables on the Hilltoppers when play resumed, pouring in 31 second-quarter points to completely erase the 16-point deficit. Tara Goldman's driving layup with 47 ticks showing on the first half clock put the hosts on top 42-41, for the first time since the opening minutes of the contest.

The teams traded hoops for the first few possessions of the second half before a spinning Simpson post move gave West Liberty the lead for good, 47-46, with 7:16 left in the third quarter.

Simpson's go-ahead bucket spurred another extended Hilltopper surge as WLU held the Bobcats without a field goal for the next six minutes.

That turned into a 15-1 West Liberty run which gave West Liberty a 60-47 advantage. The Hilltoppers maintained a 65-51 lead at the end of the third quarter and spent the final 10 minutes pulling away.

Simpson had plenty of support from her teammates as Liz Flowers tossed in 18 points and grabbed 8 rebounds while Kailee Howe posted another double-double with 17 points and 10 assists. Emily Bucon added 15 tallies and Johnie Olkosky chipped in with 7 points and 9 rebounds.

Wesleyan got 20 points from Adrian Cunningham while Goldman had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

The Hilltoppers are back on the road Saturday afternoon for a crucial Mountain East Conference test at third-place Glenville State. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. at the Waco Center.

GAME NOTES

X Simpson's 26 points eclipsed her previous career high of 24 points, a total she has hit in each of her last three outings against Fairmont State

X Simpson also pushed her career total to 995 points, leaving her just 5 points away from becoming the 31st member of West Liberty's 1,000-Point Club

X Flowers hit two 3-pointers to give her 246 for her career, moving her into fifth place on WLU's all-time list