Women's Basketball | 1/20/2018 4:56:00 PM

Box Score

    WHEELING, W.Va. – The West Liberty University women's basketball team came out on the short end of a 79-72 overtime thriller against Ohio County rival Wheeling Jesuit Saturday afternoon at the McDonough Center.
    Coach Kyle Cooper's Lady Hilltoppers (7-11, 6-6) battled back from a 5-point deficit in the final 1:24 of regulation to force overtime but the Cardinals (8-10, 6-6) scored the first seven points of the extra period and held on for the win.
    Neither team led by more than seven points in a game that swung back and forth from the opening tip, featuring nine ties and nine lead changes.
    "It was a great basketball game between two very competitive teams," Cooper said. "Hats off to Wheeling Jesuit's players and coaches. They have some veteran players who stepped up and made the plays they needed to make when they needed to make them."
    West Liberty scored 10 of the last 12 points in the third quarter and took its largest lead of the day, 57-50, into the final 10 minutes.
    The Hilltoppers still held a 62-56 lead after Brandi Beader's driving layup with 6 minutes left in regulation but went cold after junior post Marissa Brown – who was limited by foul problems all day – went to the bench with her fourth foul.
    Jesuit reeled off 11 straight points to flip the scoreboard, going up 67-62 with just 1:24 to go when Lauren Lipscomb slipped inside for a hoop but Brown returned and WLU responded.
    Audrey Tingle fed Brown for a layup at the 1:11 mark and, following a defensive stop, Brown sent the game into overtime with a conventional 3-point play.
    A couple of turnovers early in the overtime frame opened the door and WJU walked right through. Chenelle Moore and Cassi Stein wrapped short jumpers around a Monica Burns 3-pointer for a 74-67 Cardinal lead with 3:26 remaining.
    Brown scored on a follow shot and a Beader bonus bomb trimmed the margin to 74-72 with 2:16 remaining but Brown fouled out on the next trip down the floor and the hosts were able to close out the game at the charity stripe.
    "We had our opportunities," Cooper said, "but we got away from the things we do best, sharing the basketball, valuing each possession and playing good team defense. You can't come down to Wheeling Jesuit, turn the ball over 26 times, give them 26 free throws and hope to walk away with a win."
    Brown led West Liberty with 17 points and 11 rebounds despite missing long stretches of the game with foul problems. McKenna Shives and Beader added 15 and 10 points, respectively, while Tingle stuffed the stat sheet with 9 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists.
    Burns had a game-high 22 points for Wheeling Jesuit while Moore had a double-double with 18 points and 14 boards. Mariah Callen and Lipscomb rounded out the double-figure scorers with 13 and 10 points, respectively.
    The Lady Hilltoppers return home to host Shepherd on Wednesday. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m. at the ASRC.