Women's Basketball | 2/7/2021 4:32:00 PM

Box Score     WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – The West Liberty University women's basketball team delivered a smothering defensive performance Sunday in rolling to an 80-43 victory against West Virginia Wesleyan at the ASRC.
    It was the second straight blowout win for Coach Kyle Cooper's Hilltoppers (4-6), who appeared to pick up where they had left off in Wednesday's 77-59 romp at Davis & Elkins.
    "I think you're seeing us start to play with a little more confidence," Cooper said. "We've gotten past our little adversity hump and are feeling better about ourselves as a team. It looks like our young group may be growing up a little bit."
    West Liberty held the Bobcats (2-8) to just two field goals over the first six minutes to open up a 13-4 lead and never looked back. The Hilltoppers were in total control by intermission, leading 39-22 at the break, and then limited the visitors to just six points during the third quarter to put the game on ice.
    Senior point guard Audrey Tingle, fresh off just the fourth triple-double of the season in NCAA Division II women's basketball on Wednesday, nearly did it again on Sunday afternoon. The four-year starter stuffed the stat sheet with 15 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists while shooting a blistering 7-of-8 from the floor.
    Tingle didn't lack for support in another balanced offensive showing for the Black and Gold.
    Fellow senior guard Olivia Belknap took game scoring honors with 17 points while grabbing 6 rebounds and dishing out 5 assists. Junior post Arriana Manzay contributed 15 points and 7 boards while true freshman Karly McCutcheon dropped in 13 tallies.
    Good offensive numbers to be sure but after the game, Coach Cooper was focused on the other end of the floor.
    "I was really happy with our half-court defense and defensive rebounding today," Cooper said. "Wesleyan moves the ball very well but not only were we able to force them into some difficult shots, we did a good job keeping them off the glass and limiting their second chance points. We were able to get some clean rebounds which fed into our transition game and allowed us to get out and run."
    The Hilltoppers forced the Bobcats into 18 turnovers, held them to 35 percent (19-of-53) shooting from the floor and didn't give up a single 3-point field goal.
    Wesleyan finished the game without a double-figure scorer. Abi Gabauer's 9 points topped the visitors' scoring column.
    West Liberty will be back on the ASRC boards Wednesday night when the Black and Gold hosts Ohio County rival Wheeling. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m.