WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – The West Liberty University women's basketball team will take on Davis & Elkins in its final home Wednesday night contest of the season this week.

THE BASICS
January 23, 2023 | 5:30 pm | ASRC (West Liberty, W.Va.)
Davis & Elkins (4-12, 4-8 MEC) vs West Liberty (10-8, 8-4 MEC)
Live stats and video links will be available here.

THE HILLTOPPERS
West Liberty saw a three game conference win streak get broken on Saturday in the Battle for Wheeling, falling 74-68 on the road to the Cardinals. The back-and-forth battle ultimately went to Wheeling, as it scored the final six points of the game holding the Hilltoppers off the board for the final 1:20. There were 11 lead changes and 11 ties in the game, with five ties coming in the fourth quarter. Five Hilltoppers scored double-digits led by Arriana Manzay with her ninth double-double of the season posting 14 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
 
West Liberty is in the top-10 nationally in a pair of statistical categories. The Hilltoppers rank fourth in assists per game (18.3), seventh in three pointers per game (9.4). They are 11^th in DII, scoring 78.2 points per game. They also lead the MEC in field goal percentage (45.5%) and hold opponents to 25.4% shooting beyond the arc, the lowest in the conference.
 
The Hilltoppers own the three-point arc this season, making at least six threes in every outing with six double-digit three-point games. They had a season-low six three pointers in the loss at Wheeling on Saturday. Meanwhile, on the defensive side of the ball teams have not made more than seven threes in a game this season. West Liberty held both conference opponents (AB and Wheeling) to just one three pointer, two of eight times this season WLU has done so.
 
Manzay, a senior forward, leads the Hilltoppers with nine double-doubles including two straight. She ranks third in DII and leads the conference with a 66.2% shooting percentage. Manzay is scoring 19.3 points per game and pulling in 10.1 rebounds, good for second and third in the MEC. The Texas native is a two-time MEC Player of the Week this season. She has scored  double digits in all but two games and netted 20-plus nine times and reached 30 points twice.
 
McCutcheon, a sophomore guard, did not make a three pointer for the first time this season on Saturday, going 0-for-4, after recording multiple threes in every game prior. She still ranks seventh in DII and second in the MEC averaging 3.00 per game. McCutcheon is shooting 42.2% from beyond the arc. She is scoring 17.3 points per game and has double-digits in all but one outing after dropping 10 points on Saturday.
 
Grace Faulk is right behind McCutcheon averaging 2.72 three pointers per game. She has drained multiple triples in five straight and eight of the last nine games. The junior guard has tied a career-high with six twice this season, most recently in the win at Fairmont State. Faulk averages 11.2 points per game and had her second straight 10-point outing on Saturday. She is shooting 38.3% from deep.
 
Reigning first team all-conference player Corinne Thomas scored a season-high 13 points on Saturday. She returned from an injury at the start of 2023 and has begun to reach her stride draining multiple threes in four straight games with back-to-back double digit scoring efforts.
 
Sophomore guard Anna Lucarelli leads the team averaging 3.9 assists per game. She has reached her career high (seven assists) four times this season, the most recent last Wednesday against Alderson Broaddus at home.
 
West Liberty is 5-3 at home this season and 3-0 on Wednesday nights inside the ASRC.

THE SENATORS
Davis & Elkins snapped a five game losing streak with a 67-61 win over West Virginia Wesleyan Saturday on the road. The Senators took the lead two minutes into the second half and never trailed battling out the road victory. They will vie for their second straight win for just the second time this season on Wednesday.
 
The Senators are scoring 66.9 points per game and allowing 79.0. They are shooting 41.0% from the floor and hold opponents to the second lowest shooting percentage in the conference (37.5%). D&E leads the MEC in defensive rebounds per game (29.2) and ranks second in total rebounds per game (42.1) but averages a -0.9-rebounding margin.
 
Sophomore guard Taylor Smith leads the team scoring 15.4 points per game and is coming off a season-high 25 in Saturday's win. Smith drains 2.5 threes per game and ranks third in the MEC with a 40.2% three point percentage. Freshman guard Elli Wilkerson also averages double digits, at 12.6 points per game. Wilkerson has recorded six double doubles this season and leads the team pulling in 7.5 rebounds per game. She is shooting 52.2% from the field this season.
 
Davis & Elkins is 2-7 away from the McDonnell Center this season.

THE SERIES
The Hilltoppers own a 36-13 all time advantage over the Senators. West Liberty has won four straight contests including an 81-68 win at D&E earlier this season in December. The Hilltoppers outscored the Senators 28-9 in the second quarter and that proved to be enough for the win, as WLU held a double digit lead the entire second half. Karly McCutcheon recorded her first career double-double rewriting three career-high's with 32 points, 12 rebounds, and eight three pointers. Arriana Manzay scored 30 points with nine rebounds and Anna Lucarelli dished out a career-best seven assists. The Hilltoppers outshot D&E 11-to-3 from beyond the arc.

NEXT UP
West Liberty heads to West Virginia Wesleyan for a 2 pm tip off on Saturday.

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