Charleston, W.Va. – In a tale of two halves, the West Liberty University women's basketball team suffered their first conference loss of the season in a 94-60 defeat to Charleston on Wednesday night. The Hilltoppers held a 39-34 lead at the halftime break, however the Golden Eagle offense came to life in the second half and outscored the Hilltoppers 60-21 and shot 24-of-38 (63.1%) compared to 7-of-26 (26.9%) for WLU.
 
QUICK DETAILS
Final Score: West Liberty 60, Charleston 94
Team Records: West Liberty 5-3 (3-1 MEC), Charleston 3-6 (1-4 MEC)
Attendance: 55
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Corinne Thomas and Bailee Smith combined for the team's first 12 points as West Liberty took a 12-6 lead into the under five media timeout with 4:07 remaining in the first quarter. Karly McCutcheon answered a Charleston 3-pointer to make it 15-9, however the Golden Eagles closed the opening quarter on a 10-2 scoring run to grab a 19-17 lead after ten minutes of play.
• Jenna Riccardo got things going early in the second quarter for WLU as the Hilltoppers scored the first seven points of the period. A 3-pointer by Grace Faulk, assisted by Smith, gave West Liberty the lead back at 22-19 with 8:05 remaining. The Black & Gold extended the scoring run to 13-5 as they led 30-24 at the under five media timeout with 3:30 remaining. West Liberty led by as many as nine points in the second quarter as Karly McCutcheon knocked down her second 3-pointer of the game with 1:08 remaining till the break, putting WLU in front 37-28. The Golden Eagles, however, scored six of the final eight points with a pair of 3-pointers and cut the lead to 39-34 at the halftime break.
• Charleston continued to build onto the momentum of the 6-2 scoring run to end the second quarter and extended it to 22-5 at the first media timeout and led 50-42 with 5:03 remaining in the third quarter. Thomas made the lone field goal in the final five minutes of the period for WLU as she scored on a layup. The Golden Eagles ended the third outscoring the Hilltoppers 37-9 in the quarter and built a 71-48 advantage entering the final ten minutes of play.
• The Hilltoppers began to answer Golden Eagle baskets with their own made shots in the fourth quarter, however they were unable to cut into the deficit as UC led 84-58 with 4:45 remaining in the game as WLU called a timeout after a made layup by Smith. Charleston ended the game on a 10-2 scoring run to grab their largest lead of the game at 34 points with a final score of 94-60.
• West Liberty shot 23-of-57 (40.4%) from the field, 7-of-22 (31.8%) from 3-point range, and 7-of-8 (87.5%) from the free throw line compared to 37-of-70 (52.9%) from the field, 12-of-20 (60.0%) from 3-point range, and 8-of-14 (57.1%) from the free throw line for Charleston.
• The Hilltoppers had season-low marks in points (60) and assists (10) while turning the ball over a season-high 23 times.
• The Golden Eagles converted the 23 WLU turnovers into 26 points off turnovers while also holding the rebounding advantage (42-28) as they turned eight offensive rebounds into 14 second chance points.
• Only two West Liberty athletes scored in double figures as Thomas scored a game-high 22 points while Smith added 12.
• Three WLU players connected on a 3-pointer in the game as Thomas and McCutcheon both knocked down three from deep while Faulk made one from beyond the arc.

WEST LIBERTY STATISTICAL LEADERS
Corinne Thomas: 22 points, 3-of-4 3-pointers, 3 assists, 2 rebounds
Bailee Smith: 12 points, 4 assists, 3 steals, 1 rebound
Karly McCutcheon: 9 points, 3 3-pointers, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
Jenna Riccardo: 8 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 assist, 1 block
 
UP NEXT
West Liberty will return to the hilltop after two consecutive games on the road when they host West Virginia State on Saturday afternoon. The Hilltoppers and Yellow Jackets are set for a 5:30 p.m. tip-off inside the ASRC.