CHARLESTON, W.Va. – An impressive comeback effort by a foul-plagued West Liberty women's team fell just short Sunday afternoon as Wheeling Jesuit's Jaila Bryant hit two free throws with just 1.9 seconds remaining to seal the Cardinals' 70-66 upset win in the championship game of the Mountain East Conference Tournament.

Things looked dark indeed for Coach Lynn Ullom's Hilltoppers (27-4) when 2,000-point scorer Liz Flowers and MEC Player of the Year Kiki Simpson picked up their fifth fouls on consecutive possessions with just under six minutes remaining and WLU on the short end of a 54-44 count.

Compounding matters was the fact that West Liberty was in the midst of its worst shooting slump of the day, misfiring on nine straight shots as WJU (26-5) built on what had been just a 4-point edge at the start of the fourth quarter.

When Bryant gave the Cardinals their biggest lead of the game, 56-44, with a twisting drive to the hoop as the clock ticked under 5 minutes and the Hilltoppers failed to score on three straight possessions, the game seemed all but over.

But the West Liberty defense held Jesuit to just one field goal the rest of the way and senior guard Jasmin Kiley began heating up from the perimeter, wrapping a pair of 3-pointers around a Bryant basket – WJU's final hoop of the day – and the Hilltoppers had new life.

Despite the flurry, Jesuit still seemed in control when Kylie Frizell hit a pair of charity tosses to make it 63-54 with just 1:21 to play but Emily Bucon answered with two free throws of her own, WJU missed both ends of a two-shot foul and Kiley rained in another 3-ball to make it 63-59 with 55 seconds left.

The Cardinals' Chelsea Richardson made 1-of-2 with 33 ticks remaining but Johnie Olkosky pushed in a rebound basket for West Liberty and it was a one-possession game, 64-61, with 25 seconds to play.

Frizell tried to stop the bleeding with two more free throws but Kiley cut the lead to 66-64 with a conventional 3-point play when she was fouled on her way to the rim with 13 seconds left.

Bryant missed an ill-advised shot at the other end with 8 seconds to play but got her own rebound and was fouled, sinking both free throws for a 68-64 lead.

Kailee Howe hit two free throws for West Liberty with 3 seconds left but Bryant iced the game with her final two foul shots just one second later.

Trailing 33-24 after committing a staggering 17 turnovers in a sloppy first half, the Hilltoppers were able to get back in the game during the third quarter with a strong defensive effort.

West Liberty held the Cardinals without a field goal for the final 9 minutes of the frame but saw Flowers, Bucon and Simpson all pick up their fourth fouls as WLU closed the gap to 46-42.

In the end, however, the Hilltoppers couldn't overcome the huge discrepancy at the charity stripe.

While the Cardinals made just 6-of-19 shots from the floor in the final two quarters – compared to a 14-of-28 showing from WLU with 5 3-pointers – Jesuit more than made up for it with an eye-popping 25-of-34 free throws in the final 18 minutes of action. By comparison, West Liberty – which was whistled for 22 fouls in the second half – was 9-of-11 from the charity stripe after intermission.

Howe led all scorers with 22 points to go along with 4 assists and 3 steals. Kiley had a season-high 15 points – 12 of them coming in the final 3:30 – and Bucon tossed in 11 points before fouling out. Flowers finished with 9 points and 5 rebounds while Simpson was limited to just 7 points and 8 boards.

Bryant paced Wheeling Jesuit with 21 points while Jaana Motton had 14 points and a team-high 9 rebounds. Mariah Callen added 16 points and Frizell finished with 10. Callen and Frizell were a combined 17-of-17 from the foul line.

The Cardinals earned the MEC's automatic bid to next week's NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional with West Liberty expected to receive its third consecutive bid, this time as an at-large entry.

TOURNAMENT NOTEBOOK

X Howe, Flowers and Simpson were named to the MEC's All-Tournament Team along with WJU's Bryant, Callen and Motton. Bryant was voted Most Outstanding Player

X Flowers won the award as the tournament's leading scorer at 23.0 ppg. while Bucon earned the Commissioner's Heart and Hustle Award

X The Atlantic Region tournament field, site and pairings will be announced at 10 p.m. Sunday via a live webcast on the NCAA website at www.NCAA.com

X Howe needs just 4 more assists to become the first woman in NCAA Division II history to record back-to-back seasons with 300 or more assists