WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. - The top three-point defense in the Mountain East Conference, West Liberty University women's basketball is set to make a road trip to the state capital tonight to take on Charleston, the conference's leading three-point shooting offense, in a battle of 5-2 squads.

THE BASICS
December 7, 2022 | 5:30 pm | Wehrle Innovation Center (Charleston, W.Va.)
West Liberty (5-2, 4-0 MEC) vs. Charleston (5-2, 3-1 MEC)
Live stats and video links can be viewed here.

THE HILLTOPPERS
West Liberty is off to a 4-0 start in conference play and is coming off an 81-68 victory on the road at Davis & Elkins on Saturday. The Hilltoppers are scoring 81.7 points per game, 12^th in DII and third in the MEC, and averaging a +8.6-scoring margin over opponents through the first seven games. WLU is 2-1 on the road this season with wins over Alderson Broaddus and Davis & Elkins in conference play, the lone loss came at Ohio Dominican in game three of the season.
 
West Liberty is leading the conference in four stat categories, including assists per game (18.3), also 8^th in DII, field goal percentage (47.0%), also 13^th in DII, defensive rebounds per game (28.7), and three-point defense (19.1%) holding opponents to 13-of-68 shooting beyond the arc, which is also third in DII. Overall, the Hilltoppers have a +4-rebounding margin, but rank 10^th in the conference on the offensive end averaging 10.4 rebounds per game. The Black and Gold have cut down on turnovers in MEC play, but still rank last in the conference with a -5.14 margin.
 
Arriana Manzay is coming off an MEC Player of the Week honor after averaging 29 points and 12 rebounds in wins over West Virginia Wesleyan and Davis and Elkins. On Wednesday, the senior from Lubbock, Texas kicked off the week with her third double-double of the season with 28 points and 15 rebounds over 28 minutes of action, then capped it off with her second 30-point game of the season netting 30 with nine rebounds on Saturday. Manzay ranks third in DII and atop the MEC with a 69.3 field goal percentage making 61 of her 88 attempts so far. She also is second in the conference in scoring and rebounding through seven games at an average of 22.3 points and 10.1 rebounds per game.
 
Karly McCutcheon rewrote her career highs on Saturday with 32 points, 12 rebounds, and eight three pointers for her second 30-point game of the season. She has netted double figures in every outing and is right behind Manzay averaging 21.4 points per game to rank third in the MEC. McCutcheon leads the MEC and is third in the nation, averaging 3.86 triples per game.
 
THE GOLDEN EAGLES
Charleston is coming off an 80-68 win over Frostburg State in its home gym on Saturday bouncing back from a seven-point loss at Fairmont State earlier in the week. The Golden Eagles highlight of the season so far came on November 22 taking down the reigning national champions, Glenville State, 79-70 at home. Charleston is averaging 75.4 points per game and allowing 70.6 for a +4.8-scoring margin over opponents. Inside the Wehrle Innovation Center, UC is a perfect 4-0 this season.
 
The Golden Eagles enter play with the MEC lead in three-point percentage shooting 39.2% beyond the arc averaging 8.6 per game. They are second in field goal percentage (45.4%) and blocks (3.0 per game). Although UC owns a +3.6-rebounding advantage over opponents, they are last in the MEC on the offensive glass pulling in just 9.7 rebounds per game. Charleston is 10^th in the league in getting to the free throw line and commits the 10^th most fouls per game.
 
Veteran guards Trinity Palacio and Markyia McCormick lead the Golden Eagle offense averaging 15.4 and 15.2 points per game. Senior guard Dakota Reeves paces the outside shooting with a 46.2% clip from long range draining 3.43 triples per game.

THE SERIES
Charleston owns a 31-28 all-time advantage dating back to 1981-82. West Liberty swept the regular season series last season with a 78-77 win on the road before the Golden Eagles eliminated WLU from the MEC Tournament semifinals, 72-65 in March. In Charleston the teams have each won five games since joining the MEC in 2013.

NEXT UP
West Liberty returns to the home confines of the ASRC on Saturday for a matchup against West Virginia State at 5:30 pm.

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