Elkins, W.Va. – The West Liberty University women's basketball team set the tone early with a 10-0 scoring run and never looked back as they cruised to a 96-67 victory at Davis & Elkins on Saturday evening. A key moment in tonight's game occurred in the early minutes of the second quarter as Corinne Thomas connected on a 3-pointer to become the 38^th member of the program's 1,000 Point Club, joining current teammate Karly McCutcheon who achieved the milestone last season. The win marked the Hilltoppers fourth consecutive as they also improved to 3-0 in conference play.
 
QUICK DETAILS
Final Score: West Liberty 96, Davis & Elkins 67
Team Records: West Liberty 5-2 (3-0 MEC), Davis & Elkins 0-6 (0-4 MEC)
Attendance: 140
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The only lead for Davis & Elkins came with the first made basket of the game giving the Senators a 2-0 lead, however Jenna Riccardo tied the game with a layup and Bailee Smith gave West Liberty the lead with a 3-pointer with 8:03 left in the first quarter. Following another D&E layup to make it 5-4, WLU opened up the lead with a 10-0 scoring run to push the lead to 15-14. During the scoring run the Hilltoppers saw five points from freshman Reagan Vinskovich who made her season debut in the Black & Gold. On two occasions West Liberty saw a lead as large as 15 points in the opening quarter as Smith knocked down a 3-pointer to make it 23-8 and Natalija Sekulovska added a layup to make it 26-11. Davis & Elkins connected on a 3-pointer with four seconds remaining to enter the second quarter with the score 26-14 in favor of WLU.
• After a nearly two minute scoring drought by both teams in the early minutes of the second quarter, Corinne Thomas broke the scoring drought off an assist from Bailey Beckstedt, knocking down a 3-pointer from the left wing for her first points of the game. The basket also marked 1,000 points in her playing career on the hilltop. The momentum started to pick up for WLU as Thomas hit another 3-pointer on the ensuing possession and sparked a 15-2 scoring run that saw WLU go up 41-18 with 1:50 remaining in the half. The Hilltoppers extended the run to 19-4 to end the second period as Grace Faulk made a 3-pointer with 26 seconds left and gave West Liberty the 45-20 lead at the break.
• West Liberty grew the lead to 33 at 57-24 with 7:34 left in the third quarter as they connected back-to-back 3-pointers by Thomas and McCutcheon. The scoring run then continued to 17-4 and pushed the lead to 62-26 following a layup by Smith with 6:24 left in the quarter. Davis & Elkins then slowly began to chip away at the lead as they went on a 17-4 run of their own make it a 25 point game in favor of WLU with only 21 seconds left, however Sekulovska connected on a 3-pointer from the right wing to beat the buzzer and push the lead back to 71-43 entering the final ten minutes of play.
• Thomas momentarily pushed the lead back to 31 points at 78-47 with 7:42 left in the game as she scored five consecutive points of her own on a layup and 3-pointer. After Davis & Elkins chipped into the lead again, WLU scored six straight points on four free throws by Thomas and a layup by Smith to make it 86-53 with 3:54 remaining. The Senators used a 7-0 scoring run to help outscore the Hilltoppers 14-10 in the final minutes of the game. With just 26 seconds remaining in the game, freshman Sophie Abraham hit a 3-pointer from the left wing to notch her first career points.
• West Liberty shot 32-of-66 (48.5%) from the field, 15-of-35 (42.9%) from 3-point range, and 17-of-23 (673.9%) from the free throw line compared to 28-of-75 (37.3%) from the field, 3-of-12 (25.0%) from 3-point range, and 8-of-9 (88.9%) from the free throw line for Davis & Elkins.
• The Hilltoppers 48.5 percent shooting from the field and 42.9 percent shooting from 3-point range were both season-high marks, as well as field goals made and 3-pointers made.
• West Liberty assisted on 20 of 32 made baskets in the game as ten players scored in the contest.
• Six Hilltoppers made a 3-pointer in the game as Thomas led the team with five from beyond the arc while Faulk and Smith added three apiece.

WEST LIBERTY STATISTICAL LEADERS
Corinne Thomas: 21 points, 5 3-pointers, 6 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists
Bailee Smith: 17 points, 7-of-9 field goals, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals
Karly McCutcheon: 13 points, 5-of-9 field goals, 6 assists, 4 rebounds, 1 steal
Reagan Vinskovich: 11 points, 5-of-7 free throws, 2 rebounds
 
UP NEXT
West Liberty will stay on the road next week as they will travel to the state capital to square off with Charleston on Wednesday, December 6. The Hilltoppers and Golden Eagles are set for a 5:30 p.m. tip-off inside the Wehrle Innovation Center.