Women's Basketball | 1/5/2017 8:21:00 PM

Box Score WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – The West Liberty University women's basketball team held Charleston to 28 percent shooting from the floor and pulled away to a 71-49 victory Thursday night in a Mountain East Conference matchup at the ASRC.
Coach Lynn Ullom's Hilltoppers (3-9, 2-4) never trailed in taking a 34-27 lead into the locker room at intermission and held the Golden Eagles to just seven baskets over the final 20 minutes to put the game on ice.
"This was probably the most cohesive effort we've put together as a team this season," Ullom said. "We did a good job helping out on defense and got the ball where it needed to be on offense. This was a really good team effort."
A driving layup by Emily Bucon capped a 9-0 West Liberty run to produce the first 20-point lead of the night, 56-36, in the final minute of the third quarter.
Charleston's Jordyn Peck hit a short jumper to end the quarter with WLU on top, 56-38, but the Hilltoppers were far from finished.
The Black and Gold opened the fourth quarter on another 9-0 run and when Brandi Beader's third 3-pointer of the game capped the surge, West Liberty had put the game out of reach at 65-38.
The final numbers showed a balanced attack for the hosts with four players scoring in double-figures and a fifth player making a run at a triple-double.
Beader and Bucon led the scoring parade with 17 and 16 points, respectively, while Marissa Brown worked the paint for 14 points and McKenna Shives added 10 tallies and 4 assists.
Sophomore guard Johnie Olkosky never left the court while stuffing the stat sheet with 9 points, 13 rebounds, 7 assists and a pair of steals.
"I thought Johnie was a true leader out there tonight," Ullom said. "She was making plays at both ends of the floor and giving great effort. We're starting to see more consistency with Brandi and I was happy to see Emily play such a strong game. She's really playing on just one leg but she never stops hustling and had some very timely baskets tonight."
Charleston finished the night just 15-of-52 from the field with Peck – the leading scorer in the MEC at 19.5 ppg. – the only player in double-figures at 10 points.
"I thought McKenna Shives did a very nice job of staying fundamentally focused against Peck, who is clearly one of the best players in the league," Ullom said. "McKenna worked hard trying to keep her away from her spots and that's not an easy thing to do."
The Hilltoppers hit the road on Sunday for a 1 p.m. game at Glenville State.