WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – Taylor Johnson scored a game-high 29 points and the West Liberty University women's basketball team dominated the second half here Saturday in running away to a 77-49 victory against Wheeling Jesuit at the ASRC.
    Coach Kyle Cooper's Hilltoppers (11-7, 8-4) held the Cardinals (3-15, 1-11) to just 19 points over the final 20 minutes in handing WJU its 12^th straight loss.
    "I have to commend us on our defensive effort tonight," Cooper said. "I thought it was really, really good. We were pretty choppy in the first half, neither smooth nor pretty, but things really opened up when we got the game going at our pace in the second half."
    West Liberty led virtually wire-to-wire but couldn't get any separation from the scrappy visitors over the first two quarters and settled for a 35-30 lead at the break.
    That changed quickly when play resumed as Johnson capped a 13-2 blitz with a fast-break layup and a transition 3-pointer – both on assists from sophomore guard Audrey Tingle – to help WLU open up a 49-35 lead midway through the third quarter.
    Johnson, who was coming off a career-high 34-point night at Urbana on Thursday, credited her recent production to an encouraging conversation with her head coach.
    "Coach Cooper has been telling me to stop focusing so much on the last play and stay in the moment," Johnson said, "and I finally started listening to him. I was putting a lot of pressure on myself but when I stopped doing that and just focused on doing what I could to help the team win, it helped me relax."
    The Hilltoppers closed the quarter on an 11-0 run to carry a 63-40 lead into the fourth quarter. Johnson – who had scored 16 of her 29 points during the third quarter – opened the final 10 minutes with her fifth 3-pointer of the night and West Liberty coasted home.
    Johnson's 29 points came on 9-of-13 shooting from the floor and 5-of-8 shooting from the 3-point arc but she had plenty of support.
    Tingle made a run at a triple-double with 12 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists while Olivia Belknap added 10 points. Senior post Marissa Brown was held scoreless for the first time in her career by an array of double- and triple-teams but made her presence felt with 17 rebounds and 4 blocked shots.
    "They did a really good job of doubling down on Marissa and we were pretty choppy on offense in the first half," Johnson said. "In the second half, we were able to get more penetration and kick outs for some really good looks."
    Chenelle Moore led WJU with 18 points and 17 rebounds while Khira Burton added a dozen points. The Hilltoppers held the Cardinals to just 27 percent shooting (18-of-66) on the night and just 22 percent (7-of-31) in the second half.
    West Liberty heads to the Eastern Panhandle on Wednesday for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff at Shepherd.