WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – The West Liberty University women's basketball team scored 13 of the game's last 16 points and pulled away to a 67-55 victory against upset-minded Frostburg State Saturday afternoon at the ASRC.
    Coach Kyle Cooper's Hilltoppers (7-9, 3-7) fought through another tough shooting game but got it done on defense, holding the Bobcats (2-14, 1-9) to a single field goal over the final 5:17.
    "It definitely feels good to win," Cooper said. "Even though the shots weren't falling for most of the game, we kept working and we kept working together. As a result, we found a way to win through defense and execution.
    "Looking at the box score, everybody scored, everybody had at least one rebound and almost everybody had an assist. That's the way it's supposed to be. Great team effort."
    Neither team led by more than six points over the first three quarters, which ended with West Liberty clinging to a narrow 44-42 lead.
    The Hilltoppers – who average nearly 80 points a game and are one of the top 3-point shooting teams in the nation – were just 6-for-28 (21 percent) from behind the arc and 13-of-44 (29 percent) from the floor.
    "We had a lot of shooters missing shots that they normally knock down," Cooper said, "but they kept playing defense. That was a big key to the win today."
    West Liberty missed its first two 3-point shots of the fourth quarter and a post move by Frostburg's Arianna Briggs-Hall forged the game's final deadlock, 44-44, with 9:21 to go.
    That's when WLU junior Olivia Belknap found the range. The southpaw guard scored the Hilltoppers' next seven points, capped by a 3-point bomb to put the hosts on top, 51-46, as the clock ticked under 7 minutes.
    "My shots weren't falling early," Belknap said, "but when that happens, I just focus on playing defense and helping create chances for my teammates. We all work together and they did a great job getting me some good looks down the stretch."
    Belknap went on to score 10 of her team-high 16 points in the fourth quarter and West Liberty was on its way.
    "I'm probably harder on Olivia than any other player," Cooper said, "but that's because I know her talent level and the type of player she can become. She had a mind shift at halftime and came up big when we needed it. I couldn't be prouder of her."
    Morgan Brunner backed Belknap with 14 points while Taylor Johnson added a dozen.
    The Bobcats got double-doubles from each of their two posts. Senior Amanda Emory had a game-high 18 points and 10 rebounds while Briggs-Hall, a freshman, finished with 11 points and a game-high 11 boards.
    The Lady Hilltoppers return to the ASRC boards on Wednesday when they host Urbana in a 5:30 p.m. tipoff.