West Liberty, W.Va. – The West Liberty University women's basketball team will play their first of three consecutive games in the Buckeye State on Tuesday evening when they travel to North Canton, Ohio, to face Walsh. The Hilltoppers and Cavaliers make the return to non-conference play as they tip-off at 5:30 p.m. in Alumni Arena.

GAME DETAILS

• Location: North Canton, Ohio (Alumni Arena)
• Tip-Off: 5:30 P.M.

WEST LIBERTY STORYLINES

• West Liberty enters Tuesday's game with a record of 5-4 (3-2 MEC) on the year following a 78-61 loss at home to West Virginia State on Saturday evening.
• The Hilltoppers are currently fourth in the MEC league standings.
• Through nine games, the Hilltoppers are averaging 74.0 points, 36.9 rebounds, 16.8 assists, 8.9 steals, and 2.7 blocks per game, while shooting the ball 37.9 percent from the field, 33.9 percent from 3-point range, and 69.5 percent from the free throw line.
• WLU ranks within the top-30 of NCAA Division II in three statistical categories, ranking second in 3-pointers per game (11.1), third in 3-point attempts per game (32.8), and 27^th in assists per game (16.8)
• The Hilltoppers are led by a trio of players who are averaging double figures as Corinne Thomas ranks second in the MEC and averages 17.9 points while Karly McCutcheon and Bailee Smith add 12.9 and 11.7 points per game respectively.
• Thomas has four games of 20 or more points this season while McCutcheon has two. Each of them has one double-double in 2023-24.
• Thomas is second in DII for 3-pointers made per game this season, knocking down an average of 3.89 per game. She also ranks second in the country with a total of 35 made baskets from deep. McCutcheon is another scoring threat from 3-point range as she averages 2.56 3-pointers per game in 2023-24. Thomas is shooting 36.8 percent and McCutcheon is 30.3 percent from beyond the arc. Thomas has made at least three 3-pointers in all nine games while McCutcheon has three or more in five contests.
• Thomas ranks third in the conference in free throw percentage, knocking down 24-of-29 shots from the charity stripe for 82.8 percent.
• Jenna Riccardo, Thomas, and McCutcheon are the top rebounders on the team as they each average five or more boards a game. Riccardo averages a team-high of 5.3 rebounds per game while Thomas and McCutcheon grab 5.1 and 5.0 rebounds per game respectively. Riccardo has grabbed five or more rebounds in six games this season, including seven in each of the last two outings.
• Thomas, Smith, and Bailey Beckstedt have been the facilitators of the Hilltopper offense. Thomas averages a team-high of 3.6 assists per game while Smith and Beckstedt add 3.3 and 3.0 assists respectively. Beckstedt and Thomas have dished out five or more assists on two occasions this year while Smith has once.
• Beckstedt has posted a 1.23 assist/turnover ratio this season, dishing out 27 assists compared to 22 turnovers.
• Thomas leads the Black & Gold on the defensive side of the ball, forcing 2.3 steals per game, while Smith and McCutcheon add 1.3 steals apiece. In the last game against WVSU Thomas tied a season-high of four steals, which she had done twice prior in the season. Smith and McCutcheon both have three multi-steal games in 2023-24.
• Paige Julian and McCutcheon have made it difficult for opponents to get shots off by leading the team with 0.8 and 0.7 blocks per game respectively. Julian has posted one block in six of the eight games that she has played in this season.
• Kyle Cooper is in his seventh season as the head coach at West Liberty with a career record of 97-77 with the Hilltoppers.

WALSH STORYLINES

• Walsh enters Tuesday's game with a record of 2-4 (1-2 MEC) on the year following a 75-43 loss at home to Kentucky Wesleyan on Saturday evening.
• After being picked to finish ninth in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll, the Cavaliers are currently tied for tenth in the league standings.
• Through six games Walsh is averaging 52.2 points, 32.7 rebounds, 11.2 assists, 11.3 steals, and 3.3 blocks per game while shooting the ball 31.4 percent from the field, 29.4 percent from 3-point range, and 71.4 percent from the free throw line.
• Kiley Dyrlund leads the Cavaliers in scoring, averaging 9.2 points per game this season. She has scored a season-high of 12 points on three occasions this year.
• Sydney Ludvigsen has knocked down a team-high nine 3-pointers off 19 shot attempts from beyond the arc, shooting 47.4 percent on the season. In the team's last outing against KWU she went 4-of-8 from deep.
• The Cavs are led by a trio of underclassmen on the glass as Alycia Triplett averages a team-high 4.5 rebounds per game. Emma Dretke and Dyrlund average 4.0 boards apiece.
• Sami Kim has been the facilitator of the Walsh offense, averaging 3.0 assists per game. She dished out a career-high of eight assists in a home win over D'Youville.
• On the defensive side of the ball, Dyrlund has collected a team-high 2.3 steals per game while Triplett and Lauren Galaska average 1.8 and 1.7 steals respectively.
• Dretke is the top rim protector in GMAC with 1.33 blocks per game while Dyrlund is fourth with 1.00 blocks.
• Mark Schwitzgable is in his second season as the head coach at Walsh, posting a career record of 14-21 during his time with the Cavaliers.

SERIES HISTORY

• West Liberty and Walsh enter the fifth all-time meeting between the programs with the series knotted up at two games apiece.
• The Cavaliers won their second consecutive game against the Hilltoppers with a 96-74 win on December 18, 2019, at Rocket Mortgage Field House in Cleveland, home of the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers.
• Corinne Thomas and Grace Faulk are the only current Hilltoppers to have played against Walsh. Thomas scored 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the floor and 2-of-4 3-point shooting, while grabbing two rebounds and recording one assist. Faulk scored three points in the contest and added four rebounds and dished out three assists.