Women's Basketball | 2/9/2020 4:08:00 PM

Box Score     WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – The West Liberty University women's basketball team dropped a 72-59 decision to Charleston here Sunday in the first game of an NCAA D2 Basketball Showcase twinbill at the ASRC.
    Coach Kyle Cooper's Hilltoppers (9-13, 5-11) battled to the wire but couldn't find an answer for the Golden Eagles' (18-4, 13-3) dynamic inside game as UC pulled away late for its sixth straight win.
    Charleston posts Anna Hayton and Erykah Russell were virtually unstoppable on the afternoon, working the paint and the charity stripe for a combined 50 points to go along with 25 rebounds.
    Hayton, a 6-2 senior, scored 19 of her game-high 30 points in the second half as the Golden Eagles methodically created some breathing room after coming from behind to take a 34-31 lead at the break.
    "Hayton is so good when she gets the ball down low," Cooper said. "We threw a lot of different people at her trying to keep her in check but with her size and athleticism, that's a hard guard for us."
    The Hilltoppers came out smoking, draining five 3-point shots in the first quarter alone. They led by as many as five points before taking a 21-20 advantage into the second period.
    The lead switched hands several times over the next 10 minutes. West Liberty took its biggest lead of the day, 30-24, on a Taylor Johnson 3-point play at the 4:56 mark but UC came roaring back to take the lead for good just before intermission.
    After knocking down five 3-pointers in the first eight minutes of the game, the Hilltoppers didn't make another one until the second half. Compounding matters, the hosts were just 3-for-13 from the floor in the second quarter as Charleston made its comeback.
    The Golden Eagles shot a blistering 65 percent (11-of-17) from the floor in the third quarter to open up a 58-50 lead and West Liberty was unable to put together a fourth-quarter run, missing 14 of its last 17 shots.
    "In a game like this against a team that defends as well as Charleston, you have to knock down your open looks," Cooper said. "We got our share of them today but they just wouldn't drop."
    Hayton finished with 30 points and 15 rebounds while Russell, a 6-2 junior, backed her with 15 points and 10 boards. The twin towers were 18-of-31 from the floor and 14-of-17 from the foul line.
    Johnson was the only double-figure scorer for West Liberty on a tough shooting day for the Black and Gold. The senior guard tossed in 22 points but the Hilltoppers shot 32 percent (21-of-64) from the floor as a team and were just 8-of-34 (23 percent) from the 3-point arc.
    The road doesn't get any easier for the WLU women as they head to Glenville State on Wednesday to take on the MEC-leading Pioneers. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m. at the WACO Center.