FAIRMONT, W.Va. – The No. 20-ranked West Liberty University women's basketball team scored 9 straight points down the stretch here Thursday night to rally past Fairmont State, 67-61, at Joe Retton Arena.

Kiki Simpson tied a career-high with 24 points and Liz Flowers buried a game-clinching 3-pointer in the final 30 seconds as Coach Lynn Ullom's Hilltoppers (18-3, 13-2) hung onto their share of first place in the battle of Mountain East Conference contenders.

West Liberty had led by as many as 13 points, 27-14, midway through the second quarter but Flowers went to the bench with her third foul at the 4:38 mark and the Falcons (15-6, 9-6) closed the half on a 13-2 run to trail just 29-27 at the break.

Neither team led by more than four points the rest of the way until the Hilltoppers' game-winning surge as the tightly-played contest saw 9 ties and 5 lead changes over the final 20 minutes.

Emily Puskarich gave Fairmont its biggest lead of the night, 59-57, with a clutch 3-pointer as the fourth quarter clock ticked under the 3:30 mark but the WLU defense slammed the door the rest of the way.

Kailee Howe forged the game's final tie, 59-59, with a strong move to the rim and then helped put the Hilltoppers ahead to stay by tipping a loose ball ahead to Johnie Olkosky, who hit a sprinting Simpson in stride for a runout layup and a 61-59 lead with 2:20 left to play.

The teams traded defensive stops before Flowers pushed the margin to 63-59 with a pair of free throws at 1:31.

The West Liberty defense came up big again and a scramble gave the ball to the Black and Gold with less than a minute remaining.

Howe dribbled the shot clock down into single digits before driving into the lane and kicking out a perfect pass to Flowers on the right wing. Flowers caught the pass in rhythm and hit nothing but net with a dagger of a 3-pointer, giving WLU an insurmountable 66-59 lead with just 25 seconds to go.

Simpson, who was a sparkling 12-of-15 from the floor, had 13 rebounds, 3 blocks and 3 steals to go along with her 24 points. Flowers added 20 points, 7 assists and 6 boards while Howe finished with 15 points and 5 assists.

The Falcons got 18 points from Deidra Combs while Katie Nunan and Puskarich added 14 and 12 points, respectively.

The Hilltoppers return to action on Saturday with a 2 p.m. game at Shepherd.