Women's Basketball | 1/24/2018 8:08:00 PM

Box Score

    WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – The West Liberty University women's basketball team broke open a close game with a huge second-half run and coasted to a 72-59 victory against Shepherd Wednesday night at the ASRC.
    Coach Kyle Cooper's Hilltoppers (8-11, 7-6) took command with a 21-2 surge covering much of the third quarter and held the Rams (9-10, 5-8) under 30 percent shooting from the floor to avenge an early-season loss in Shepherdstown.
    "It's all about our effort and focus," junior guard Johnie Olkosky said. "We have to come in here locked in, getting stops and playing together as a team. When we put it all together, we win. It's as simple as that."
    Shepherd held a slim 34-32 lead at the half but after the teams traded baskets at the start of the third quarter, West Liberty slammed the door.
    A 3-point field goal from McKenna Shives and Marissa Brown's conventional 3-point play ignited a 21-2 run over the next 5 ½ minutes. Another Shives bonus bomb gave the Black and Gold their largest lead of the night, 55-38, with 2:12 left in the third quarter.
    The Rams cut the lead to five points, 58-53, with a 15-3 surge of their own that carried into the fourth quarter but couldn't sustain the momentum. Brandi Beader and Olkosky hit a pair of clutch shots to stop the bleeding and the Hilltoppers locked down on defense again to put the game on ice.
    Shepherd was 14-of-30 (47 percent) from the floor in the first half but made just 9-of-33 (27 percent) the rest of the way.
    "It wasn't a pretty win by any means," Cooper said, "but we did a great job of playing team basketball at both ends of the court for most of the night and that's what wins and loses games for us. Shepherd has some kids who can really score the basketball so to put up the defensive numbers we did against them in the second half tells me we're doing some things right."
    Brown, the leading scorer in the Atlantic Region, notched her 11^th double-double of the season with 19 points and 10 rebounds while Olkosky just missed with 13 points and 9 boards. Shives knocked down four 3-pointers and finished with 13 points while Beader added a dozen tallies. Freshman guard Audrey Tingle had 7 points and a game-high 8 assists.
    Morgan Arden had a game-high 25 points for the Rams with 18 of them coming in the first half. Kari Lankford backed Arden with 12 points and 10 rebounds in a losing cause.
    "This was a big win for us in the conference, as well," Cooper noted. "When we value each possession and play with great intensity, we are beyond capable of using this game as a springboard to put a run together over the last nine games of the season."
    The Lady Hilltoppers hit the road on Sunday for a special 2:30 p.m. tipoff at Fairmont State.