WHEELING, W.Va. – No. 18-ranked Glenville State hit a late 3-pointer and went 10-for-12 from the foul line down the stretch to hold off upset-minded West Liberty, 98-85, here Saturday in a Mountain East Conference Tournament semifinal at WesBanco Arena.
    Coach Kyle Cooper's Hilltoppers (21-9) came out cold and trailed the up-tempo Pioneers (28-2) by as many as 26 points midway through the third quarter but the second-year head man never lost faith in his squad.
    "I have a group of fighters," Cooper said. "We couldn't get any shots to drop and we're down 20-plus points in the second half against the best team in the region but we never quit and gave ourselves a chance to win, down just 3 or 4 points in the fourth quarter. Glenville's a great basketball team and they deserve credit for closing out the win but I couldn't be prouder of my girls."
    One of the top 3-point shooting teams in the nation, West Liberty made just 1-of-13 shots from behind the arc in the first half and trailed 44-33 at the break.
    When play resumed, the Pioneers' vaunted defensive pressure forced a series of WLU turnovers to fuel a 13-0 burst in the early part of the third quarter, turning a 46-36 lead into a 61-38 bulge in less than 2 minutes. The margin hit 26 points, 67-41, at the 4-minute mark when Zakiyah Winfield sailed coast-to-coast for a layup after another steal and the issue appeared to have been decided.
    Glenville head coach Kim Stephens said she knew a Hilltopper surge was coming.
    "This is the third time we've played them this year and it's the third time they've wiped out a big lead in the second half and left us feeling happy the game wasn't 45 minutes long," said the MEC Coach of the Year. "(West Liberty) doesn't get enough credit for how well they shoot the ball. You could be up 40 on that team and they're never out of it."
    With senior center Marissa Brown and junior guard Morgan Brunner working the inside-outside game to perfection, the Hilltoppers did start cutting into the lead.
    Brunner ended the third quarter with a deep 3-pointer to trim the deficit to 75-59 and the Black and Gold kept right on rolling. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Johnie Olkosky and Brunner made it a 6-point game, 83-77, with 3:25 to play and a fast break layup by Brown cut it to 85-81, forcing a Pioneer timeout with 1:53 remaining.
    The Pioneers calmly ran the shot clock down into single digits before firing a kick-out pass to Ty Armstrong, who dropped a dagger of a 3-pointer from above the top of the key for an 88-81 Glenville lead with 1:27 to go.
    The Hilltoppers missed at the other end and the Pioneers closed out the game from the foul line.
    Brown had another huge game with 32 points and 15 rebounds while Brunner – who set an MEC Tournament record with 13 3-pointers in the two games – poured in 19 of her 21 points after intermission. Taylor Johnson added 18 points and Audrey Tingle delivered 10 assists.
    Re'Shawna Stone led four double-figure scorers for Glenville with 30 points.
    After being ranked No. 8 in the Atlantic Region coming into the tournament, Cooper said he and his team will be looking forward to Sunday night's NCAA Division II Tournament Selection Show.
    "I'm absolutely convinced we've done enough to get in," Cooper said. "If we're not one of the top eight teams in the region, I don't know who is. We have a great strength of schedule, several quality wins and almost all of our losses have come against regionally-ranked teams. There's no question in my mind these girls deserve another game."