SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – The West Liberty University women's basketball team battled back from a double-digit deficit here Wednesday night to shock Notre Dame, 82-75, in a Mountain East Conference thriller at Murphy Gym.
    Coach Kyle Cooper's Hilltoppers (11-16, 7-14) held the regionally-ranked Falcons (23-4, 17-4) without a basket for a 6-minute span in the fourth quarter to pull off the comeback.
    West Liberty trailed by 10 points, 46-36, in the opening minute of the second half but shot a blistering 73 percent (8-of-11) from the floor in the third quarter to get back in the hunt.
    An Audrey Tingle 3-pointer forged the first tie of the second half, 67-67, at 7:48 of the fourth quarter and the visitors went into lockdown mode on the defensive end.
    After an exchange of free throws over the next few minutes, Taylor Johnson put WLU ahead to stay, 73-71, with a slithering drive down the lane at the 2:29 mark.
    The Hilltoppers forced a miss at the other end but Morgan Brunner didn't miss from the corner, draining her third 3-point bomb of the night for a 76-71 West Liberty lead with 1:51 to play.
    Two Seina Adachi free throws made it a one-possession game, 78-75, with 59 seconds to go but Johnson went 4-for-4 from the charity stripe in the final minute to seal the deal.
    Johnson poured in 14 of her game-high 19 points in the second half to lead the visitors and just missed a double-double with 9 rebounds. Tingle finished with 17 points and 6 boards while Olivia Belknap and Grace Fodor joined the double-digit parade with 10 points each.
    Adachi had 12 points to lead four double-figure scorers for the hosts, who also got 11 points and 10 rebounds from Jessie Stout.
    The Lady Hilltoppers return home on Saturday to host Wheeling on Senior Day. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. inside the ASRC.