WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – The West Liberty University women's basketball team scored 19 straight points in the first quarter and was never threatened here Wednesday night in blasting Fairmont State, 94-69, inside the ASRC.
    It was the sixth win in the last seven games for Coach Kyle Cooper's sizzling Hilltoppers (8-7), who led by as many as 32 in the second half while taking over sole possession of second place in the MEC North Division.
    "I'm really proud of the collective effort by our team tonight," Cooper said. "We knew in order to win we needed to play complementary basketball, string together some defensive stops and get out and run. I thought we did that unbelievably well, especially in the first half."
    The Falcons (6-9), who carried a three-game winning streak into Wednesday's contest, jumped out to a quick 6-2 lead but it was all West Liberty the rest of the way.
    Starting with an Audrey Tingle jumper as the clock ticked under 8 minutes, WLU held Fairmont State scoreless for nearly seven minutes and took command with a 19-0 run. Six players scored during the extended surge as the Hilltoppers forced four turnovers while holding the visitors to 0-for-9 shooting.
    The Black and Gold held a 21-9 lead after one quarter but the issue had already been decided. West Liberty opened up a 50-26 margin at the half and then scored the first eight points of the third quarter to remove any lingering doubts.
    "We weren't perfect offensively," Cooper said, "but we were pretty good. Having 29 assists on 38 made baskets is just incredible. We made the extra pass just about every time tonight and got a lot of great looks."
    Those looks paid off in the scorebook as WLU shot 59 percent (38-of-64) from the floor and 54 percent (13-of-24) from the 3-point arc. All five starters hit double-figures with Tingle falling just shy of a triple-double with 13 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists.
    Arriana Manzay led the way with 20 points while senior Jackie Kitts chipped in with career-highs of 16 points and 6 assists in her final home game. Grace Faulk added 14 points and 8 rebounds while Olivia Belknap contributed 13 points and 9 boards.
    "I'm really happy to see our four seniors get a big win like that in their last home game," Cooper said. "A special hats-off to Jackie Kitts who not only got it done on the offensive end of the floor but really locked down defensively on (Sierra) Kotchman. She's one of the best offensive players in the league and finished with 17 points but, thanks to Jackie, it took her 19 shots to get there."
    Alyssa DeAngelo led Fairmont State with 21 points while Kotchman and Jertaya Hall finished with 17 and 12 points, respectively.
    The Hilltoppers make the short trip to Wheeling on Saturday for a mutual regular-season finale against the Cardinals. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. at the McDonough Center.