WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – The West Liberty University women's basketball team celebrated Senior Day on Saturday by breezing to an 81-73 victory against Ohio County rival Wheeling in a mutual regular-season finale at the ASRC.
    Coach Kyle Cooper's Hilltoppers (12-16, 8-14) closed the opening quarter on a 9-1 run and never trailed again in earning a split of the season series with the visiting Cardinals (10-18, 9-13).
    Seniors Morgan Brunner, Taylor Johnson, Grace Fodor and Monica Bragg were honored in pre-game ceremonies and Cooper expressed his appreciation for their contributions to the program during a post-game interview.
    "This group has probably been through more than its share of highs and lows over the years," Cooper said, "but they never doubted themselves, their coaches or their teammates and always fought through whatever adversity they faced. That's what will always make them special to me."
    Wheeling had pulled out an 82-75 victory against WLU in last month's first meeting of the season and the Cardinals got off to another strong start on Saturday.
    Taliah Caldwell's 17-footer with 2:35 on the first-quarter clock put Wheeling up 18-14 but that turned out to be the high water mark for the visitors as Brunner - the nation's leading 3-point shooter - took matters into her own hands.
    The 5-9 senior guard closed out the quarter by wrapping a pair of 3-point bombs around a conventional 3-point play to send West Liberty into the second quarter with a 23-19 lead.
    The rest of the seniors got into the act in the second quarter as a 14-4 Hilltopper surge – with Bragg, Brunner, Johnson and Fodor combining for 10 of those 14 points – produced the largest lead of the first half, 42-29, with 2:16 remaining.
    Wheeling scored the last seven points of the half to close to 42-36 at the break but WLU scored 10 of the first 14 points in the second half and led by as many as 18 points down the stretch.
    Brunner and Johnson led the Hilltopper scoring with 17 and 16 points, respectively, while junior point guard Audrey Tingle had a double-double with 12 points, 14 rebounds and 6 assists. Freshman Corinne Thomas came off the bench to drain a trio of clutch 3-point shots and finished with 10 points.
    "We were really dialed in today," Cooper said. "We played with intensity and efficiency on both ends of the court and made Wheeling work for everything they got. I thought we were especially good at sharing the basketball, making the extra passes and reversals that opened up the defense and created driving lanes to the basket."
    Wheeling sophomore post Lilly Ritz had another big game with 26 points and 17 rebounds to pace four double-figure scorers but the Hilltoppers actually won the battle of the boards, 41-37, and held the Cardinals to 38 percent shooting from the floor.
    It was the second straight impressive victory for the Black and Gold, which was coming off an 82-75 upset of regionally-ranked Notre Dame in South Euclid, Ohio on Wednesday night and appears to be carrying plenty of momentum into next week's MEC Tournament at WesBanco Arena in Wheeling.
    "I can't say enough about our seniors and their leadership," Cooper said. "We have a group of talented players competing with great motivation and energy right now. That can be a pretty dangerous combination at this time of year."
    Saturday's win clinched the No. 8 seed for West Liberty, which will take on No. 9 seed West Virginia State in Wednesday's 2:15 p.m. game at WesBanco Arena.