Women's Basketball | 11/12/2017 5:28:00 PM

Box Score

    SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – The West Liberty University women's basketball team scored the game's first eight points and never looked back here Sunday in racing away to a 76-55 victory against Mercyhurst on the final day of the MEC/PSAC Crossover event at Murphy Gym on the campus of Notre Dame College.
    The first win of Kyle Cooper's coaching career was an impressive one from start to finish as the Hilltoppers (1-1) got 3-pointers from Johnie Olkosky and Brandi Beader along with a pair of free throws from Audrey Tingle to grab an 8-0 lead just over two minutes into the game.
    West Liberty carried a 19-7 lead into the second quarter and pushed the margin to 20 points, 32-12, midway through the frame before Mercyhurst (1-1) closed out the quarter on a 9-2 run to trail 34-21 at intermission.
    Any hopes of a Laker comeback were quickly dashed when play resumed as the Black and Gold scored 11 of the first 13 points in the second half. A McKenna Shives 3-pointer made it 45-23 as the clock ticked past the 7-minute mark in the third quarter and Mercyhurst never threatened again.
    Beader knocked down five 3-pointers on the afternoon and tied her career-high with 24 points to pace the Hilltopper barrage. In just her second collegiate game, Tingle made a run at a triple-double with 9 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists.
    Olkosky finished with 11 points while Shives drained a trio of 3-pointers to finish with 9 points and Marissa Brown just missed a double-double with 9 points and 10 rebounds.
    The Lakers got 22 points and 8 rebounds from Amber Renz while Maria Lapertosa added 13 tallies in a losing cause.
    The West Liberty women return to northeast Ohio on Tuesday for a 5:30 p.m. non-conference test at Ursuline.