West Liberty, W.Va. – The West Liberty University women's basketball team will play their second of three straight games in the state of Ohio when they visit Ohio Dominican on Thursday evening. The Hilltoppers and Panthers will meet in a non-conference match-up at 5:30 p.m. in Alumni Hall in Columbus, Ohio.

GAME DETAILS

• Location: Columbus, Ohio (Alumni Hall)
• Tip-Off: 5:30 P.M.

WEST LIBERTY STORYLINES

• West Liberty enters Thursday's game with a record of 5-5 (3-2 MEC) on the year following an 83-74 loss on the road at Walsh on Tuesday evening.
• The Hilltoppers are currently fourth in the MEC league standings after being picked fifth in the MEC Preseason Coaches' Poll prior to the start of the season.
• Through ten games, the Hilltoppers are averaging 74.0 points, 36.5 rebounds, 17.2 assists, 8.9 steals, and 2.7 blocks per game, while shooting the ball 38.0 percent from the field, 34.3 percent from 3-point range, and 67.8 percent from the free throw line.
• WLU ranks within the top-25 of NCAA Division II in three statistical categories, ranking second in 3-pointers per game (11.3), third in 3-point attempts per game (32.9), 19^th in assists per game (17.2)
• The Hilltoppers are led by a trio of players who are averaging double figures as Corinne Thomas ranks third in the MEC and averages 17.5 points while Karly McCutcheon ranks seventh in the conference with 13.5 points per game. Bailee Smith rounds out the trio by scoring an average of 11.3 points per game.
• 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.
• The duo of Thomas and McCutcheon are two of the top shooters from beyond the arc in NCAA Division II. Thomas is second nationally in both total 3-pointers (37) and 3-pointers per game (3.70), while McCutcheon is 11^th in total 3-pointers (29) and 18^th in 3-pointers per game (2.90). Thomas is 37-of-102 for 36.3 percent and McCutcheon is 29-of-86 for 33.7 percent from deep.
• The Hilltoppers have recorded double digit 3-point field goal totals in eight of their ten games this season, including 13 or more made from beyond the arc in five contests. McCutcheon's six made 3-pointers against the Cavaliers on Tuesday night tied the most made in a game for WLU this season, matching Thomas' six in a prior win at Salem.
• Jenna Riccardo and McCutcheon both average more than five rebounds a game to lead WLU on the glass. Riccardo averages a team-high of 5.7 rebounds per game while McCutcheon has grabbed 5.2 boards per game. After securing a season-high of nine rebounds against Walsh, Riccardo has now grabbed five or more rebounds in seven games this season.
• Thomas and Smith have been the facilitators of the Hilltopper offense. Thomas leads the team and ranks fourth in the conference with an average of 3.9 assists per game while Smith is sixth in the league with 3.6 assists per game. In their last outing against the Cavs, Thomas and Smith dished out season-highs of seven and six assists respectively.
• Thomas, who ranks seventh in the MEC in steals per game, leads the Black & Gold on the defensive side of the ball by forcing 2.3 steals per game. Smith and McCutcheon each add 1.3 steals apiece. Thomas has notched seven multi-steal games, while Smith and McCutcheon both have three multi-steal games in 2023-24.
• Paige Julian, Natalija Sekulovska, and McCutcheon have made it difficult for opponents to get shots off by leading the team with 0.7 blocks per game apiece. Sekulovska has posted a pair of blocks in each of the past three outings against Charleston, West Virginia State, and Walsh.
• Kyle Cooper is in his seventh season as the head coach at West Liberty with a career record of 97-78 with the Hilltoppers.

OHIO DOMINICAN STORYLINES

• Ohio Dominican enters Thursday's game with a record of 2-6 (0-3 GMAC) on the year following a 66-59 loss at home to Central State on Tuesday evening.
• The Panthers are currently 13^th in the GMAC conference standings after being picked tied for 13^th in the GMAC Preseason Coaches' Poll prior to the start of the season.
• Through eight games ODU is averaging 60.0 points, 29.0 rebounds, 11.8 assists, 10.1 steals, and 2.1 blocks per game while shooting the ball 42.3 percent from the field, 26.7 percent from 3-point range, and 73.9 percent from the free throw line.
• Gabby Stare is the lone Panther to average double figures in scoring with 16.4 points per game, which ranks third in the GMAC. She has scored 20 or more points on two occasions, including a season-high of 24 points in a win over Notre Dame (Ohio).
• Stare is also fifth in the conference in free throw percentage, shooting 38-of-42 from the charity stripe for 90.5 percent.
• Brynn Mullet has connected on a team-high 11 made 3-pointers this season, shooting 11-of-32 for 34.4 percent from deep.
• Jenna Shackleford and Nelia Guice lead Ohio Dominican on the glass, averaging 4.9 and 3.9 rebounds per game respectively. Shackleford has secured five or more rebounds in four games while Guice has done so on three occasions.
• La'Sonja Hill has been the facilitator of the Panther offense, averaging 2.7 assists per game. She dished out a career-high of five assists in ODU's conference opener at Cedarville.
• On the defensive side of the ball, Hill has collected a team-high 2.3 steals per game for Ohio Dominican. She has recorded three or more steals in each of the last three outings, including a career-high of four in a game at Hillsdale.
• Shackleford has a team-high of 0.7 blocks per game in 2023-24 and has posted one block in five of her seven games played.
• Melanie Balcomb is in her second season as the head coach at Ohio Dominican, posting a record of 8-26 during her time with the Panthers. Overall, she is in her 25^th season as a head coach at the collegiate level with prior stops at Ashland, Xavier, and Vanderbilt, recording a career record of 481-279.

SERIES HISTORY

• Ohio Dominican leads the all-time series 3-1 as the teams enter their fifth meeting in series history.
• The Panthers won last season's non-conference match-up in Columbus, Ohio, on November 16, 2022, defeating the Hilltoppers 79-68.
• Karly McCutcheon led WLU with 18 points in last season's match-up between the teams, while also grabbing five rebounds in the contest. Grace Faulk added nine points, six rebounds, and a pair of assists.