WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. - The West Liberty University women's basketball team is set to begin conference play this afternoon at Alderson Broaddus as they round out their four game road stretch to start the season.

THE BASICS
2:00 pm | Rex Pyles Arena (Philippi, W.Va.) | Mountain East Conference Opener
West Liberty (1-2) at Alderson Broaddus (1-2)
Live stats and video links can be viewed here.

THE HILLTOPPERS
Still on the road to start the season, West Liberty is coming off a tough loss on Wednesday at Ohio Dominican. Trailing by just one heading to the fourth quarter, the Hilltoppers coughed up 10 turnovers leading to a 79-68 loss. Wednesday was the first non-overtime game of the season, after a 70-67 OT loss against Cal (Pa.) started the season and a thrilling 108-107 double-overtime game against Mercyhurst gave West Liberty its first win of the season at the MEC/PSAC Challenge on opening weekend in Charleston.

The Hilltoppers are averaging 81 points per game and surrendering 85.3 after the three extra periods of play thus far. West Liberty has defended the three-point ball tremendously in the early going, allowing just three made triples for an opponent shooting percentage of 13%. On the offensive side of the ball, WLU has connected on 36.8% of long balls and is shooting 49% from the field.

A -10.7 turnover margin has been the achilles heel for the Black and Gold through the first three games. On the glass, the Hilltoppers own a +1.7 total rebounding advantage, but are -4.3 on the offensive glass. Last time out however, West Liberty owned the edge on the offensive end for the first time this season with eight boards to Ohio Dominican's four.

Karly McCutcheon and Arriana Manzay lead the scoring for the Hilltoppers, averaging 21.3 and 19.3 points per game respectively. McCutcheon led the team for the second time in three games with 18 points at ODU. The sophomore from New Castle, Pa. has drained nine threes this year and is shooting at a 69% clip from beyond the arc. Manzay is shooting 80.8% from the field and pulls down an average of 7.7 boards a game to lead the rebounding efforts for the Black and Gold. West Liberty has been spreading the wealth however, with nine players in the scoring column in each of the last two games.

THE BATTLERS
After a season-opening win over Shepherd (83-67), Alderson Broaddus has dropped each of its last two games, 84-71 to Pitt Johnstown and 94-67 to Salem, heading into conference play. 

The Battlers are averaging 73.7 points per game and allow 81.7, coming off a season-high allowed and low scoring in the home-opening loss versus Salem. The three-point line has not been their friend this year, shooting 26% as a team while opponents are connecting at a 42% clip. On the boards, Alderson Broaddus has a -6.6 rebounding margin.

Junior forward Iyahnna Williams leads the charge for the Battlers at an early-season average of 24.3 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. She put up a 33-point, 14-rebound double-double in the season opening win and is coming off her best shooting night against Salem, going 8-of-13 and 3-for-4 from deep. Williams has also dished out five assists and made four blocks through the first three games of the season.

Amil Mitchell has been a consistent scoring for the Battlers, posting 19, 18, and 18 through the first three games. The junior guard hoisted 13 three-point attempts in the Salem contest, she is 6-of-21 (28.6%) from deep this season. Mitchell also leads the team with nine assists.

Alderson Broaddus owns a 0.7  assist-to-turnover ratio and has held a +2 turnover margin through the early going, averaging 16 giveaways and swiping 18 back.

THE SERIES
The Hilltoppers hold a 39-18 advantage all-time. West Liberty has won the last three meetings including a sweep last season that featured a 91-38 win in Philippi.

NEXT UP
West Liberty will play its home opener on Tuesday as MEC play continues. Notre Dame College visits the hilltop for a 5:30 pm tip.

Follow Hilltopper basketball all season online at HilltopperSports.com and on Twitter (@WLU_Hoops | @WLathletics), Instagram (@wlu_wbb | @wlu_athletics), and Facebook.