Women's Basketball | 2/15/2018 7:35:00 PM

Box Score
    BUCKHANNON, W.Va. – Mari Stewart's 17-foot jumper with just 2 seconds remaining here Thursday night lifted host West Virginia Wesleyan to an 81-79 upset of third-place West Liberty in a Mountain East Conference women's basketball thriller at Rockefeller Arena.
    Coach Kyle Cooper's Lady Hilltoppers (12-13, 11-8) had maintained a narrow lead throughout the fourth quarter only to see the Bobcats (8-17, 6-13) snatch victory from the jaws of defeat in the final minute.
    A pair of Johnie Olkosky free throws put WLU on top, 77-74, with 1:38 remaining but Stewart hit a 3-pointer at the other end to knot the score, 77-77, with 1:14 to play.
    West Liberty misfired on its next possession and Wesleyan took its first lead of the fourth quarter when Victoria Jackson was fouled after rebounding her own missed shot and splashed home both free throws to make it 79-77 Bobcats with 26 ticks remaining.
    The Hilltoppers' Marissa Brown forged a 79-79 deadlock when the 6-3 post muscled in a layup – her 33^rd and 34^th points of the night – with 15.8 seconds showing on the clock and Wesleyan called a timeout.
    Jackson took the in-bounds pass and dribbled the clock down to 7 seconds before driving to the hoop. Brown was able to alter the shot but a hustling Tara Goldman snatched the rebound and whipped the ball out to a wide-open Stewart, who hit nothing but net from the wing for the game-winner.
    Brown posted her fourth 30-point night of the season, finishing with 9 rebounds and a pair of blocked shots to go along with her 34 points, but the visitors couldn't overcome the hosts' 45-31 rebounding advantage.
    Olkosky added 16 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists while Brandi Beader also hit double figures with 12 points. Audrey Tingle dished out a game-high 12 assists while grabbing 6 rebounds and going 4-for-4 from the foul line.
    Jackson paced four double-figure scorers for the hosts with 18 points while Stewart had a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
    The Lady Hilltoppers return home on Saturday to host No. 8-ranked Glenville State. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. at the ASRC.