Women's Basketball | 1/8/2020 7:24:00 PM

Box Score     ATHENS, W.Va. – A second-quarter dry spell proved costly for the West Liberty University women's basketball team as Concord handed the Black and Gold an 83-71 setback here Wednesday night at the Carter Center.
    In the end, the Mountain East Conference-leading Mountain Lions (9-3, 6-1) and their 1-2 punch of Madison May and Riley Fitzwater proved too much for Coach Kyle Cooper's cold-shooting Hilltoppers (6-7, 2-5) to overcome as a late-game surge came up short.
    The 6-1 May poured in a game-high 32 points to go along with 13 rebounds and went a sizzling 16-of-16 from the foul line. Fitzwater, a 6-4 post, added 22 points and a game-high 14 rebounds to pace the hosts to a whopping 40-21 advantage off the glass.
    The evening didn't start the way it ended for the Black and Gold.
    After a see-saw first quarter ended in a 16-16 tie, West Liberty hit its first four shots from the floor to gain the upper hand in the early minutes of the second quarter.
    An Audrey Tingle 3-pointer gave the Hilltoppers their largest lead of the night, 29-21, at the 6:13 mark but that's when the lid slammed down over the WLU basket.
    West Liberty didn't make another shot for the rest of the half - 0-for-10 - and Concord took full advantage, closing out the quarter on a 19-2 run to carry a 40-31 lead into intermission.
    The Mountain Lions stretched out to a 59-45 lead heading into the fourth quarter and took their biggest lead of the night, 61-45, on a Tamra Scott layup at 9:22 of the final period.
    The Hilltoppers kept battling and ultimately got the margin down to six points, 77-71, on an Olivia Belknap 3-pointer with 49 seconds remaining but Concord - which made 26-of-30 free throws on the night - was able to close things out at the foul line.
    Taylor Johnson led the way for West Liberty with 21 points while Belknap and Morgan Brunner finished with 14 and 10 points, respectively.
    The Hilltoppers return home to host Glenville State Saturday at 2 p.m.