WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – The West Liberty University women's basketball team is on a four-game winning streak after a pair of big wins last week and is looking to keep the momentum going traveling for a tough road test at No. 5 Glenville State Wednesday evening.

THE BASICS
February 8, 2023 | 5:30 pm | Waco Center (Glenville, W.Va.)
West Liberty (14-8, 12-4 MEC) at #5 Glenville State (20-2, 14-2 MEC)
Live stats and video links will be available here.

THE HILLTOPPERS
West Liberty battled back for a hard-fought 87-77 overtime win over Charleston Saturday inside the ASRC. WLU was behind by as many as 18 points early in the game but made a strong comeback led by Sonia Sarda (25 points and 6 assists) and Corinne Thomas (23 points, 6 three-pointers). Arriana Manzay also contributed with a double-double of 13 points and 12 rebounds. The Hilltoppers shot 50% both from the floor and beyond the arc, where they outshot UC 12-3. The starting five scored 85 out of the 87 total points for WLU.
 
The Hilltoppers are top-10 in DII in six different statistical categories, ranking third in assists per game (19.0), fourth in fourth pointers per game (10.4), sixth in both three-point percentage (37.7%) and three-point percentage defense (24.8%), seventh in scoring offense (80.1), and ninth in field goal percentage (46.4%). 11 of their 14 wins have come by double digits. West Liberty leads the conference in field goal percentage, assists per game, three pointers per game, three-point percentage, three-point percentage defense, and defensive rebounds per game (29.0).
 
With 12 threes last game WLU has made double digit triples in four straight outings and 10 total games this season. The Hilltoppers have made at least six long balls in every game this season, while not allowing more than seven made threes in a game. They have made more threes than their opponents in every game this season and have held opponents to just one triple eight times along with a shutout of West Virginia Wesleyan beyond the arc on January 28.
 
Manzay, a senior forward, recorded her 11^th double-double of the season on Saturday with 13-points and 12-rebounds. She ranks third in DII and leads the conference with a 66.7% shooting percentage. Manzay is scoring 19.0 points per game and is pulling in 9.7 rebounds, good for second and third in the MEC. She has scored double digits in all but two games with 10 games at 20-plus and a pair of 30-point outings. The Texas native is a two-time MEC Player of the Week this season. Manzay went over 500 rebounds in her career last Wednesday sitting at 513 entering the matchup.
 
McCutcheon, a sophomore guard, ranks fifth in DII and atop the MEC averaging 3.14 three pointers per game, while shooting 43.9% from beyond the arc. She is scoring 17.2 points per game and has double-digits in all but one outing. Last Wednesday's 21 points was her seventh game with 20-plus, she also has hit the 30 mark twice this season. McCutcheon posted nine rebounds in the win at West Virginia State, her second time just missing a double-double this season. She has one double-double off a career-best day of 32 points, 12 rebounds, and eight three pointers at D&E on December 3. McCutcheon has multiple three pointers in all but one game. McCutcheon also is second on the team dishing out 3.5 assists per game and has multiple nine straight games.
 
Grace Faulk drained three long balls on Saturday for her ninth straight game with multiple threes. She posted a career-high 23 points off five threes at West Virginia State last Wednesday. Faulk has scored double digits in 12 of the last 13 games and is averaging 11.9 points. Faulk nets 2.91 threes per game, the fourth most in the MEC and is shooting 39.5% from deep.
 
Reigning first team all-conference player Corinne Thomas returned to the lineup in January after an early season injury and is firing on all cylinders. She has scored double digits in six straight games featuring a pair of 20-point outings with 25 points and seven three-pointers at W.Va. Wesleyan and 23 points off six threes on Saturday. Thomas has made multiple threes in 11 of her 12 games played including eight straight. She shot 71.4% (10-for-14) from beyond the arc last week. Thomas is averaging 11.2 points per game.
 
Sonia Sarda has started each of the last four games and has been filling the stat sheets lately. She tied her career-high on Saturday with 25 points. Sarda has scored double digits in four of the last five games, posted multiple assists in six straight and 10 of the last 11 games, and has shown her rebounding presence with games of eight, seven, and seven in three of the last four games. Sarda is scoring 8.5 points per game and is second on the team with 17 steals in her first season on the hilltop as a graduate transfer. She is shooting 84.6% from the free throw line and went 12-for-12 last week, 10 of which in the Charleston game.
 
Sophomore guard Anna Lucarelli leads the team averaging 3.9 assists per game. She has reached her career high (seven assists) four times this season, the most recent last against Alderson Broaddus on January 18. She also leads the team with 18 steals. Lucarelli has been inactive the past four games.
 
West Liberty is 6-4 on the road this season, 6-3 in MEC action. WLU is 2-2 in Wednesday road games winning each of the last two since the New Year (87-74 at Concord on Jan. 4 and 101-92 at #T24 WVSU on Feb. 1). The win at WVSU was one of two 100-point games this season for the Black and Gold offense. A win would be the fifth straight for the Hilltoppers making it the longest streak of the season.

THE PIONEERS
Glenville State enters the matchup ranked fifth in the country and is the defending national champion. The Pioneers have won five straight games including the last four by double digits. GSU is coming off a 90-74 win at Frostburg State on Saturday.
 
The Pioneers lead Division II in points per game (89.4) and turnovers forced per game (28.14). They also are second in turnover margin (+11.36), steals per game (16.0), and three point attempts per game (31.3). GSU outscores its opponents by an average of 20.9 points per game, the fifth best mark in DII. The Pioneers are draining 10.3 three pointers per game ranking fifth in the nation.
 
Mickayla Perdue has won the MEC Player of the Week each of the past two weeks and leads the team averaging 16.8 points per game. Perdue ranks third in the MEC and eighth in DII netting 3.09 triples per game. Breanna Campbell is right behind Perdue scoring 15.8 points per game and ranks second in the conference dishing out 4.4 assists per game. Campbell also leads the team pulling in 5.6 rebounds per game, one of three players to average 5-plus boards per game. Mo Pruitt rounds out three Pioneers averaging double digits, at 10.1 points per game, and hauls in 5.4 rebounds per outing. Meanwhile Aline Fevrier is grabbing 5.2 boards.
 
11 players average over 11 minutes per game with Perdue leading at 22.7.
 
The Pioneers sport a 10-0 record at home this season.

THE SERIES
Glenville State has won each of the last 15 meetings dating back to 2016. The last Hilltopper win came on February 20 at Glenville in overtime, 101-100. This will be the 70^th all-time meeting between the schools, with the Pioneers leading the series 47-22. WLU is just 1 for its last 12 when traveling to Glenville.
 
The Hilltoppers made a strong effort to come back against then No. 2 Glenville State, outscoring them 58-40 in the second half, but it wasn't enough dropping the first meeting of the season, 94-87, on January 7 inside the ASRC. Glenville built a commanding lead in the first half, but West Liberty regrouped and started the third quarter with a 14-4 run. Despite narrowing the deficit to single digits in the fourth quarter, they were not able to catch up as GSU sealed the deal at the free throw line keeping the margin at no less than five. Arriana Manzay recorded 26 points and a career-best 18 rebounds. Sonia Sarda had 21 points, including 17 in the second half, and Karly McCutcheon scored 18 points while dishing out four assists. West Liberty outshot the Pioneers from beyond the arc, making 10 triples compared to GSU's five.
 
MEC STANDINGS
Glenville State: 1
West Liberty: T2
Full Standings here.
 
NEXT UP
West Liberty will host Concord on Saturday at 2 pm inside the ASRC.

Follow Hilltopper basketball all season online at HilltopperSports.com and on Twitter (@WLU_Hoops | @WLathletics), Instagram (@wlu_wbb | @wlu_athletics), and Facebook.