Women's Basketball | 11/5/2019 10:54:00 AM

    WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – The West Liberty University women's basketball team tips off the 2019-20 season on Friday when the Black and Gold host the annual MEC/PSAC Challenge at the ASRC.
    Coach Kyle Cooper's Hilltoppers are part of an impressive field for the two-day event as three of the four entrants are coming off 20-plus win seasons and NCAA Division II Tournament appearances last season.
    West Liberty gets things going on Friday when Cooper's crew takes on Mercyhurst (Pa.) in the 5:30 p.m. lid-lifter, The University of Charleston and California (Pa.) lock horns in the 7:30 p.m. nightcap.
    The teams switch partners on Saturday with Charleston going up against Mercyhurst at 3 p.m. before the Hilltoppers and California close out the show with a 5:30 p.m. tipoff.
    The WEST LIBERTY women will have a very different look this season with the loss of several key performers – including record-setting 2-time NCAA Division II All-American Marissa Brown – from last year's 21-win team that earned yet another NCAA Tournament bid.
    The cupboard is far from bare on the hilltop, however. Cooper welcomes back first-team All-MEC senior guard Taylor Johnson (16.4 ppg., 51 3FGs) and MEC All-Tournament standout Morgan Brunner (15.0 ppg.), who led the nation with 108 3-pointers last season. They're joined by several returning letterwinners and a pair of impressive freshman recruits as Cooper heads into his third year at the helm.
    CHARLESTON returns a pair of All-MEC standouts from last year's 27-5 NCAA Division II playoff qualifier and second-year head coach Becky Burke has added several talented newcomers to the mix.
    The Golden Eagles tuned up for their opener with an NCAA Division I exhibition at Cincinnati last week. The Bearcats prevailed, 67-52, but Charleston's All-MEC duo of Anna Hayton and Brooklyn Pannell combined for 19 points and a dozen rebounds while true freshman Dakota Reeves drained a game-high 5 3-pointers and finished with 16 points.
    CALIFORNIA (PA.) must replace three starters from last year's NCAA Division II "Sweet 16" squad but the Vulcans have their sights set on a sixth straight NCAA tourney trip. Veteran head coach Jess Strom, who carries a 191-52 (.786) record into her ninth season, has reloaded with several quality newcomers.
    Keep an eye on former Wheeling Jesuit standout Monica Burns, a graduate transfer who led all scorers with 29 points in an exhibition loss at NCAA Division I power Maryland. The Vulcans trailed just 36-30 at the half before the Terrapins pulled away to a 109-67 victory.
    MERCYHURST (PA.) will be under the direction of first-year coach Brooklyn Kohlheim, who came to MU after one season as head coach at Lake Erie (Ohio). The Lakers were 10-18 last year but return all five starters from that squad.
    Senior forward Amber Renz was the team's leading scorer in both of the Lakers' NCAA Division I exhibition losses at George Washington and the University of Buffalo last week, hitting double figures in both games.
  5:30 p.m. - Mercyhurst at West Liberty Live Stats Watch Box Score 
7:30 p.m. - California (Pa.) vs Charleston Live Stats Watch Box Score 3:30 p.m. - Mercyhurst vs Charleston Live Stats Watch Box Score
5:30 p.m. - Cal (Pa.) at West Liberty Live Stats Watch Box Score