WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – The West Liberty University women's basketball team opened the season in fine fashion here Friday night, pulling away to a 92-79 victory against Mercyhurst (Pa.) in the annual MEC/PSAC Challenge at the ASRC.
    Morgan Brunner poured in a game-high 29 points and fellow senior guard Taylor Johnson knocked down 18 of her 22 points after intermission as Coach Kyle Cooper's hosts used a second-half surge to break open a see-saw affair.
    "This was a huge team win for us," Cooper said in the post-game media opportunity. "We pride ourselves on being a developmental program and you saw that pay off for us tonight. Obviously these two girls next to me (nodding toward Brunner and Johnson) put up some great numbers but we got major contributions from a number of players to help make that possible."
    Momentum swung back and forth for much of the night as the teams combined for a staggering 11 ties and 23 lead changes through the first three quarters.
    The Lakers took their biggest lead of the second half, 61-56, on free throws from Amber Renz and Eliza Oswalt with less than 90 seconds remaining in the third quarter but that's when Johnson and Brunner went to work.
    The senior duo erased that deficit with back-to-back 3-point plays, putting WLU ahead to stay, 62-61, at the 48-second mark of the quarter. Following a defensive stop, the Hilltoppers ran the clock down into single digits before Johnson darted into the lane to cash in a spinning jumper for a 64-61 West Liberty lead.
    Brunner – who led the nation with 108 3-point field goals last winter – broke out the long range artillery when play resumed, wrapping a pair of 3-point bombs around a Mercyhurst hoop to keep the run going.
    Another spinning drive by Johnson and two Jackie Kitts free throws capped the game-breaking 18-2 surge, putting the Black and Gold up by double-digits, 74-63, with 6:56 to play. The Lakers never threatened again.
    "I thought the difference was on the defensive end," Johnson replied when asked about the decisive spurt. "We did a much better job with ball pressure and eliminating gaps, which enabled to string a bunch of stops together. We were much more consistent."
    Brunner credited her teammates for creating opportunities for her to get open looks from the perimeter.
    "I felt like I was a little slow in the beginning," Brunner said, "but Olivia (Belknap) and Audrey (Tingle) did a great job pushing the ball up the floor in transition and we really picked up the pace at both ends of the floor."
    Brunner went 6-of-11 from behind the 3-point arc and collected 6 rebounds and 4 assists to go along with her 29 points. Johnson was a perfect 8-for-8 from the foul line and chipped in with 7 rebounds while Belknap added 3 steals to go along with a "quiet" 16 points. Tingle fell just shy of double-figures with 9 points but was charted with 8 rebounds and 6 assists - both game-highs.
    Nicolete Newman paced Mercyhurst with 21 points while Renz and Oswalt added 17 and 13 points, respectively, in a losing cause.
    The Lady Hilltoppers close out the tournament on Saturday when they host perennial Atlantic Region power California (Pa.) in a 5:30 p.m. tilt. Mercyhurst tips off against the University of Charleston at 3:30 p.m.