WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – The West Liberty University women's basketball team came from behind in the final two minutes here Wednesday night to pull out a 72-68 win against Ursuline (Ohio) in non-conference action at the ASRC.
    Taylor Johnson's running scoop shot with just 17 seconds remaining snapped a 68-68 tie and put Coach Kyle Cooper's Hilltoppers (2-1) ahead to stay.
    The Arrows (0-3) went for the win on the ensuing possession but a 3-point try clanged off the rim. Johnson grabbed the rebound with just 3 seconds to go and pounded the final nails in the Ursuline coffin with a pair of free throws.
    "That win really has a good feel to it after the ups and downs we went through last season," Cooper said. "With the challenges we faced tonight, I don't think we would have won this game a year ago. The fact that we did is a testament to the maturity and growth of the young women in our program."
    West Liberty led for most of the first half, pushing the margin as high as nine points, 19-10, on a power post move by All-America center Marissa Brown to start out the second quarter.
    The Arrows began chipping away at the deficit when Brown went to the bench at the 6-minute mark after picking up three fouls in rapid succession and the teams battled to a 30-30 tie at intermission.
    "Give Ursuline credit," Cooper said. "They were beating us to a lot of 50-50 balls in the first half so when our execution started to slip, they were able to take advantage.
    "We have a very talented roster but one of the things we discussed at halftime is that talent doesn't matter without the effort to force the talent to come out."
    The 6-3 Brown returned to the floor at the start of the second half and immediately put WLU back on top, 32-30, with a strong inside move. Unfortunately, she was whistled for her fourth foul seconds later and went back to the bench.
    Freshman post Lindsay Humbel pushed the lead to 35-30 on a 3-point play off a pretty feed from Johnson on West Liberty's next trip down court but the Hilltoppers couldn't follow through.
    The Arrows put together a 14-0 run over the next five minutes to take the biggest lead of the night for either team, 44-35, with 3:45 left in the quarter.
    Trailing 47-38 in the final two minutes, Johnson hit back-to-back jumpers to provide a spark for the hosts and closed out the quarter with a 3-point bomb to make it a one-possession game, 49-46, heading into the final 10 minutes.
    The Hilltoppers tied the game on several occasions in the early minutes of the fourth quarter but Ursuline responded. A 3-pointer by Julia Cardwell put the visitors up, 64-59, with just 2:31 to play but there was no sense of panic on the WLU sidelines.
    "One of the things we really focus on is staying in the moment, playing one possession at a time," Cooper said. "The girls have really bought into that and it paid off tonight."
    Johnson answered with a driving layup and a pair of free throws to make it 64-63 with 2:05 to play. Paige Salisbury drained a short jumper for the Arrows at 1:42 but Brown grabbed a missed shot at the other end and fired the ball over to Morgan Brunner in the corner for a game-tying 3-pointer.
    After another defensive stop, Brown finished off an assist from Olivia Belknap to give West Liberty its first lead of the quarter, 68-66, with 1:05 to play. The Arrows' Bekah Green tied it with a pair of free throws at the 37-second mark and Johnson came downcourt looking for an opportunity.
    "We had a play called to look for Marissa on the blocks," Johnson said, "but it wasn't there so I just found a gap and went to the basket."
    Her leaning scoop shot between two Ursuline defenders proved to be the game-winner.
    A 5-9 transfer from Belmont Abbey (N.C.), Johnson finished with a game-high 28 points to go along with 7 rebounds and 3 steals. Brown finished with 17 points and 8 rebounds despite seeing less than 20 minutes of court time while Brunner came up big off the bench with 14 points, including four 3-pointers.
    Cardwell led four double-figure scorers for Ursuline with 19 points.
    The Hilltoppers tip off Mountain East Conference play on Saturday when they host two-time defending MEC champion Glenville State in a 2 p.m. game at the ASRC.