West Liberty, W.Va. – In a highly contested MEC battle that featured 11 ties and 23 lead changes, West Liberty secured an 84-77 victory over Frostburg State. The Hilltoppers clutch shooting in the fourth quarter delivered key 3-pointers by Jenna Riccardo and Corinne Thomas as they snapped a 5-game losing streak with the victory.
 
QUICK DETAILS
Final Score: West Liberty 84, Frostburg State 77
Team Records: West Liberty 6-7 (4-2 MEC), Frostburg State 7-6 (5-2 MEC)
Attendance: 347
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Frostburg State jumped out to an early 11-5 lead in the first quarter with seven early points from NCAA Division II's leading scorer, Emilee Weakley. West Liberty quickly responded with a 7-0 scoring run capped by a layup by Bailee Smith giving the Hilltoppers the 12-11 advantage. WLU continued the scoring run and stretched it to 13-3, with Corinne Thomas connecting on a jumper to give the Hilltoppers an 18-15 edge, however Frostburg State added a pair of free throws in the closing minute to cut the deficit to one after the first quarter.
• Frostburg State opened the scoring in the second quarter with a pair of free throws, but Thomas and Smith connected on 3-pointers to give West Liberty their largest lead of the first half at 24-19 with 8:41 remaining till the break. The Hilltoppers continued to hold a narrow lead until Weakley connected on a jumper with 3:11 to play to give the Bobcats a 32-31 lead. West Liberty would go on to score the final five points of the half on a 3-pointer by Grace Faulk and a layup by Paige Julian to give WLU the 36-34 halftime advantage.
• Frostburg State scored the first four points of the third quarter before Smith connected on her second 3-pointer of the day to momentarily give WLU the lead back at 39-38 with 8:55 left on the clock. The Hilltoppers grabbed the largest lead of the third quarter by either team with a 3-pointer by Thomas capping an 8-2 run and gave the team a 50-46 lead with 4:35 left in the period. The teams continued to battle back-and-forth the remainder of the third, trading the lead three more times. Thomas cut the Frostburg lead down to 59-58 with six seconds left on a pair of free throws to end the quarter.
• Continuing to hold onto the lead, Frostburg State led by as many as four points following a layup by Ciara Thomas to make it 67-63 with 5:51 to play in the game. West Liberty, however, continued to fight and a basket and the free throw by Jenna Riccardo gave the Hilltoppers the 68-67 advantage. After back-to-back layups allowed the Bobcats to momentarily regain the lead, Riccardo swung the momentum in the Toppers' favor as she tied the game with her first 3-pointer of the season from the right corner after taking only three shot attempts from beyond the arc the entire season entering the game. The basket delivered the momentum boost WLU needed as they closed the game on a 16-6 scoring run, and they iced the game away on 8-of-11 shooting from the charity stripe in the final three and a half minutes.
• West Liberty shot 27-of-60 (45.0%) from the field, 8-of-20 (40.0%) from 3-point range, and 22-of-36 (61.1%) from the free throw line compared to 31-of-75 (41.3%) from the field, 1-of-9 (11.1%) from 3-point range, and 14-of-16 (87.5%) from the free throw line for Frostburg State.
• The Black & Gold made 20 or more free throws for the second time this season.
• The Hilltopper defense held Maggie Sharp to 0-of-4 from 3-point range after she entered the game third in the MEC with 2.75 3-pointers per game and shooting the ball 40.2 percent from deep.
• On the night she received her commemorative 1,000 career point ball, Thomas poured in a season-high of 26 points to mark her sixth game of 20 or more points this year. She was joined in double figures scoring by Smith and Riccardo who scored 18 and 15 points respectively.
• Riccardo recorded her first double-double of the season as she added ten rebounds to her 15 points, becoming the third Hilltopper to notch one this year.
• Four WLU players connected on a 3-pointer in the game as Thomas knocked down a game-high four shots from beyond the arc while Smith added a pair from deep.

WEST LIBERTY STATISTICAL LEADERS
Corinne Thomas: 26 points, 4-of-8 3-pointers, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals
Bailee Smith: 18 points, 6-of-13 field goals, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, 1 steal
Jenna Riccardo: 15 points, 8-of-9 free throws 10 rebounds, 1 block

POST GAME INTERVIEW (JENNA RICCARDO, CORINNE THOMAS, AND HEAD COACH KYLE COOPER)

 
UP NEXT
West Liberty will face their second top-10 opponent in their last three games when they travel to No. 9 Fairmont State on Saturday afternoon. The Hilltoppers and Falcons are set for a 2 p.m. tip-off inside Joe Retton Arena in Fairmont, West Virginia.