WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – The West Liberty University women's basketball team is on the road Saturday for a key conference matchup against Fairmont State.

THE BASICS
January 14, 2023 | 2:00 pm | Joe Retton Arena (Fairmont, W.Va.)
West Liberty (8-6, 6-3 MEC) at Fairmont State (10-5, 6-3 MEC)
Live stats and video links will be available here.
Fans attending the game are strongly encouraged to purchase their tickets online prior to the game. Click here for tickets.

THE HILLTOPPERS
West Liberty is coming off an 80-61 win over Frostburg State thanks in part to a 17-1 run to close the game after holding a narrow three point lead with five minutes left in the game. The Hilltoppers outshot Frostburg State 9-1 from beyond the arc in the game. Arriana Manzay netted a game-high 23 points, 14 of which in the second half, while Karly McCutcheon added 18 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists. Grace Faulk drained five three pointers for 15 points, three of the long balls came in the final three minutes.
 
The Hilltoppers are 10^th in DII scoring 79.1 points per game, thanks to a conference leading 46.5% field goal percentage (12^th in DII) along with an average of 9.1 three pointers per game, the 11^th most in DII. They have made seven or more threes in every game and knocked down double digits four times. Meanwhile, on the defensive end WLU has held opponents to seven or less triples in every game, with seven coming just once (West Virginia State on Dec. 10). The Black and Gold has held opponents to one three pointer six times and leads the conference with an opponents three point percentage of 35.9%. The Hilltoppers are 8-1 when scoring 78 or more points.
 
West Liberty shares the ball at an elite rate averaging 17.9 assists per game to lead the MEC and rank 10^th in DII. WLU has dished out 20-plus assists five times this season and is unbeaten when reaching that mark. Sophomore guards Anna Lucarelli (3.9) and Karly McCutcheon (3.5) lead the team averaging over three assists per game. McCutcheon dished out a career-high eight in the first win of the season over Mercyhurst, while Lucarelli has tied her career-high, of 7, three times.
 
McCutcheon leads the conference shooting 46% from beyond the arc and making 3.29 triples per game, the fourth most in DII. She is second on the team and fifth in the MEC scoring 18.4 points per game. McCutcheon has had double digits in all but one game with five 20-point games and a pair at the 30 mark. The New Castle, Pa native has hit multiple threes in every game with a career-high eight in the 32-point, 12-rebound double-double against Davis & Elkins.
 
Manzay, a senior forward, posted her second straight and eighth 20-point game of the season on Wednesday. She is second in the country shooting 67.3% from the floor and ranks 10^th scoring 20.5 points per game. Manzay has six double-doubles on the season including a career-high 18 rebounds in the last one against No. 2 Glenville State. The Texas native has earned two MEC Player of the Week honors this season, the most recent a shared award a week ago. Manzay has double digits in all but one game along with a pair of 30-point outings.
 
Faulk continues to climb up the three-point shooting leaderboards, now ranking fourth in the MEC with a 38.9% clip from deep and an average of 2.64 threes per game. She has scored double digits in five straight bringing her season average to 11.2 points per game. The junior guard has made 21 three pointers over the last five games and is shooting 62% over the stretch.
 
Graduate transfer Sonia Sarda is on a three-game streak of double-digit scoring and has played over 20 minutes in each of the last two contests. Sarda netted 14 points on Wednesday and dished out six assists, following up a season-best 21 points last Saturday. The native of Spain has made five of her seven three pointers on the year over the last two games.
 
Junior guard Corinne Thomas is back on the court for the Black and Gold after suffering an early season injury. The 2021-22 first-team All-MEC selection has seen increasing minutes since her return last Wednesday at Concord.

Nine players average over 12 minutes per game with Manzay (32.6), McCutcheon (31.6), and Faulk (30.1) all on the court for over 30 minutes a game.
 
The Hilltoppers will look to make it back-to-back wins for the first time since a four-game win streak that began conference play. West Liberty is 3-2 on the road this season, 3-1 in MEC away contests.

THE FIGHTING FALCONS
Fairmont State dropped a 92-81 decision on the road at Wheeling on Wednesday night snapping a two-game win streak. The Fighting Falcons trailed by as many as 18 points in the third quarter and battled back with a 29-16 fourth frame to force overtime. However, the home standing Cardinals took charge in the extra period, winning it 13-2 for the double-digit victory. After winning four straight to start the season, the Falcons have gone back and forth since with a 6-5 record over the last 11 games. Fairmont State is 5-1 at home this season with the only loss to nationally ranked Glenville State, 89-71.
 
The Falcons are scoring the 9^th most points in Division II at 79.1 per game. They account for 21.2 points per game from the free throw line, the most in DII. Fairmont is shooting 40.1% from the floor and 28.7% from beyond the arc averaging just under six threes per game. The Falcons have scored over 80 points seven times this season but are just 4-3 when doing so. Opponents are 5-1 when scoring over 75 points.
 
On the defensive side of the ball, Fairmont State forces 23.7 turnovers per game, the 11^th most in DII and own a +5.5-turnover margin. The Falcons are holding opponents to 75.3 points per game on 44.6% shooting and a 28.4% mark from deep.
 
Junior guard Alyssa DeAngelo has scored 25 and 24 points in the last two games and leads the team averaging 19.8 points per game, ranking third in the MEC and 14^th nationally. DeAngelo also paces the outside shooting with double the attempts beyond the arc than any teammate and has made 36 triples on the season (32.7%).
 
Senior guard Katy Darnell is second on the squad averaging 16 points per game and 7.8 rebounds. She has netted 14 in each of the last two with her third double-double of the season in the win at Notre Dame (14 pts – 10 reb).
 
DeAngelo and Darnell are both leading the way getting to the line as well, nearing 100 free throw attempts on the season and top-10 nationally in makes. Darnell leads the MEC shooting 83.8% from the line and DeAngelo is fourth at 82.8%.
 
Forward Jalen Gibbs and guard Jertaya Hall both average 10.5 points, rounding out four Falcons netting 10-plus per game. Gibbs also leads the team pulling in 8.2 rebounds per game, with 46% of the boards coming on the offensive end.

THE SERIES
This will be the 86^th meeting between the schools, as West Liberty holds a 48-37 advantage all-time. The Hilltoppers have won each of the last five meetings spanning the previous two seasons with a 3-0 record against Fairmont State last year. West Liberty won by double-digits in both regular season matchups in 2021-22 scoring above 90 points each outing, then downed the Falcons 79-70 in a quarterfinal thriller in last season's MEC Tournament. The Hilltoppers have gone 9-3 in the last 12 trips to Fairmont.

NEXT UP
West Liberty will play its last non-conference game of the regular season on Monday at Bluefield State. Tip off is scheduled for 5 pm.

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