WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – The West Liberty University women's basketball team dug itself into an early hole here Wednesday night and was unable dig itself out as Fairmont State eased to an 84-67 Mountain East Conference win inside the ASRC.
    Coach Kyle Cooper's Hilltoppers (6-9, 2-7) were held to just 25 percent shooting in the first half while the Falcons (8-7, 5-4) came out with all guns blazing and never looked back.
    Despite their struggles from the floor, the WLU women kept things close for much of the first quarter. A Morgan Brunner 3-pointer cut the FSU lead to 15-13 at 3:54 of the opening frame.
    Unfortunately for the hosts, they came up empty on the next nine possessions and Fairmont took full advantage.
    The Falcons – who shot a blistering 69 percent (9-of-13) from the floor during the quarter – reeled off 12 unanswered points to open up a 27-13 lead and kept the pedal pressed firmly to the floor throughout the rest of the half.
    The Hilltoppers made just 3-of-17 (17 percent) shots from the floor during the second quarter and Fairmont pulled away to an insurmountable 47-25 lead at the half.
    West Liberty battled back with 42 second-half points but couldn't string together enough defensive stops to reel in the Falcons.
    "Given the systems in play, we knew going in that this was going to be a game of execution," Cooper said. "Fairmont just seemed more 'bought-in' to their execution in the first half and it's hard to play uphill against a group of talented players when they get on a roll. We were better in the second half but the first half ... that just wasn't West Liberty basketball."
    Brunner and fellow senior guard Taylor Johnson finished with 20 and 18 points, respectively, to account for more than half of the WLU scoring. Grace Fodor, another senior guard, nearly had a double-double off the bench while junior point guard Audrey Tingle handed out 5 assists and grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds – both game-highs.
    Sierra Kotchman tossed in a game-high 25 points to lead four double-figure scorers for Fairmont State.
    "Seventeen rebounds is off the charts for a post, much less a 5-6 point guard," Cooper said. "Audrey is kind of our servant leader who does anything the team needs to help us succeed and Grace always gives us everything she has.
    "We're a team that thrives off each other and even though the shots didn't fall, I thought we did a much better job of that in the second half tonight. We need to build on that and reward ourselves with a win on Saturday."
    The Hilltoppers host Frostburg State on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. at the ASRC.