URBANA, Ohio – Junior guard Taylor Johnson tossed in a career-high 34 points here Wednesday night as the West Liberty University women's basketball team completed a season sweep of Urbana with an 80-71 win at the Grimes Center.
    Coach Kyle Cooper's Hilltoppers (10-7, 7-4), who had rolled to a 95-56 win against the Blue Knights (1-14, 1-10) on Nov. 28, never trailed in the second half of Wednesday's rematch.
    The teams traded leads until the latter stages of the second quarter when the Black and Gold went ahead to stay.
    With the score tied at 27-27, West Liberty reeled off 9 straight points - capped by a Morgan Brunner 3-pointer as the clock ticked past the 2-minute mark - to open up a 36-27 lead.
    The Hilltoppers carried a 38-33 advantage into the halftime break and never trailed again, leading by as many as a dozen points in the second half before closing out the win at the charity stripe.
    Johnson played a major role in holding the Blue Knights at bay down the stretch, exploding for 22 of her 34 points over the final two quarters.
    The 5-9 backcourter went 13-of-22 from the floor and 7-of-10 from the foul line to set a new career high. Brunner added 13 points and Olivia Belknap checked in with 11 lightings.
    Senior pivot Marissa Brown was held to a season-low 7 points but worked the glass at both ends of the court for a game-high 14 rebounds.
    Urbana center Sylvia Hudson had a strong game for the hosts with 29 points on 13-of-19 shooting to go along with 5 steals and 4 blocks while teammate Erin Morris just missed a double-double with 9 points and 10 rebounds.
    The Lady Hilltoppers return home to host Ohio County rival Wheeling Jesuit on Saturday night. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m. at the ASRC.