Salem, W.Va. – The West Liberty University women's basketball team prevailed in their second overtime game of the early season on Saturday afternoon at Salem, winning 74-68. The battle between the Hilltoppers and Tigers saw a total of 16 lead changes and eight ties, while WLU gained the largest lead of the game at seven points late in regulation on a momentum shifting 15-2 run. The Black & Gold were in complete control off the tip in the extra period, never trailing after gaining a four point edge within the first minute.
 
QUICK DETAILS
Final Score: West Liberty 74, Salem 68 (OT)
Team Records: West Liberty 2-2, Salem 1-4
Attendance: 135
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Jenna Riccardo and Bailee Smith opened the scoring in the game with layups on their first two possessions. Salem responded to take their first lead of the game at 5-4 with five straight points, but Corinne Thomas knocked down her first 3-pointer and Riccardo added another layup to give WLU the 9-8 advantage at the under five media timeout. The teams continued back-and-forth action to end the opening quarter with the Tigers scoring on a fastbreak layup to give them a 15-14 advantage at the end of the period.
• Salem led by as many as five points in the second quarter on a layup with 6:46 left in the quarter, but Thomas quickly knocked down her third 3-pointer of the game to cut the deficit back to two only nine seconds later. The teams traded layups the ensuing possessions and the Tigers led 23-21 with WLU calling a timeout with 5:45 remaining until the halftime break. Bailee Smith made a layup with 34 seconds remaining in the quarter to give the Hilltoppers a 28-27 lead, their first since 1:19 remained in the opening quarter, but the Tigers added one last layup to take a 29-28 advantage into the locker rooms.
• Salem grabbed the largest lead of the third quarter with the first basket out of the halftime break, a 3-pointer to make it a 32-28 game. West Liberty responded with a 6-0 scoring run where a 3-pointer by Karly McCutcheon tied the score at 32 apiece and a layup by Riccardo gave WLU the 34-32 lead. The lead changed hands a total of five more times in the third quarter, but the Tigers once again led at the end of the period with a 44-41 advantage.
• Following a 3-pointer by Thomas to tie the game at 46 with 7:19 remaining in regulation, Salem used a 6-0 scoring run to secure their largest lead of the game at 52-46. The Hilltoppers, however, flipped the switch with the largest scoring run of the game as a 15-2 rally sparked by a 3-pointer from Natalija Sekulovska to give themselves the largest lead of the game at 61-54 with only 2:26 remaining in regulation. The Tigers made one final surge as they ended the fourth quarter on a 7-0 scoring run and forced overtime with a pair of free throws with only five seconds remaining.
• West Liberty never trailed in the overtime period, as Paige Julian scored the first points on a layup and Bailey Beckstedt added a pair of free throws to push the lead to 65-61. Sekulovska's 3-pointer gave the Hilltoppers a six point advantage with 2:48 remaining in the game, and Smith iced the game away at the free throw line as she made 3-of-4 attempts from the charity stripe in the final eight seconds.
• West Liberty shot 23-of-79 (29.1%) from the field, 10-of-37 (27.0%) from 3-point range, and 18-of-27 (66.7%) from the free throw line compared to 27-of-63 (42.9%) from the field, 3-of-15 (20.0%) from 3-point range, and 11-of-18 (61.1%) from the free throw line for Salem.
• The Hilltoppers held the advantage on the boards 51-50 and posted 22 points off 23 Tiger turnovers. The Black & Gold assisted on 18 of their 23 made baskets.
• West Liberty has made ten or more 3-pointers in three of their four games this season.
• Four Hilltoppers made a shot from beyond the arc, with Thomas knocking down six (one shy of her career-high) and Sekulovska hit two from deep.
• Thomas tied a career-high of four steals in the win and Julian tied a career-high of nine rebounds, which she just set in the last outing against Kentucky State.

WEST LIBERTY STATISTICAL LEADERS
Corinne Thomas: 23 points, 6 3-pointers, 7 rebounds, 4 steals, 3 assists
Bailee Smith: 17 points, 9-of-11 free throws, 5 assists, 3 rebounds, 1 block, 1 steal
Jenna Riccardo: 10 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist
Paige Julian: 10 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
 
UP NEXT
West Liberty will play their first Mountain East Conference game of the season next Tuesday before going on Thanksgiving break. The Hilltoppers will welcome Notre Dame into the ASRC and are set for a 5:30 p.m. tip-off with the Falcons.