West Liberty, W.Va. – The West Liberty University women's basketball team swung the momentum at points late in the first quarter and the beginning of the fourth, however they were unable to defeat the press and fell to (RV) Glenville State 93-74 on Saturday night inside the ASRC. While turnovers plagued the Hilltoppers throughout the contest, they were able to force 18 of their own against the Pioneers and the hot shooting of Bailee Smith and Corinne Thomas from beyond the arc led the battle till the final buzzer.
 
QUICK DETAILS
Final Score: West Liberty 74, (RV) Glenville State 93
Team Records: West Liberty 6-10 (4-5 MEC), (RV) Glenville State 12-4 (6-3 MEC)
Attendance: 327
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Glenville State opened up a 14-4 lead in the first 4:34 of the game as West Liberty's only points came from the free throw line. The Hilltoppers first basket from the field came from Corinne Thomas with a 3-pointer with 4:54 remaining in the opening period. The Pioneers grew their lead to as many as 13 points (20-7) before a 12-2 scoring run that was capped by another Thomas 3-pointer brought West Liberty back within three (22-19) with 1:16 left on the clock. GSU added a jumper with just 21 seconds remaining to take a 24-19 lead following the opening ten minutes of play.
• Glenville State started the second quarter with the first four points before a pair of free throws by Bailee Smith and a layup by Thomas brought the deficit back to 28-23 with 7:43 remaining till halftime. Powered by a pair of 3-pointers by Hya Haywood, the Pioneers then went on an 8-0 scoring run to extend the lead back to 13 points (36-23) before Smith ended the rally with a 3-pointer of her own. GSU stretched the lead to as many as 15 points (47-32) with 2:23 left in the quarter before layups by Smith and Thomas The Pioneers then added a free throw to take a 48-36 lead into the break.
• Glenville State once again started the third quarter on an 8-2 scoring run to push their lead to 18 points (56-38) with 7:35 left in the quarter before an and-one by Jenna Riccardo momentarily stalled the run. In the closing minutes of the period the Pioneers recorded their largest lead of the game with a 6-0 run making it a 77-51 lead with 24 seconds remaining, however Grace Faulk was able to give the Hilltoppers momentum entering the fourth as she converted the free throw on a 3-point play to cut the deficit to 77-54.
• West Liberty continued the momentum of Faulk's and-one to go on a 13-4 scoring run, cutting the deficit to 17 points (81-64) with 6:59 remaining in the game following a 3-pointer by Smith off an assist from Karly McCutcheon. However, 17 points would be as close as they could get as the margin teetered back-and-forth from 17 to 21 points. The Hilltoppers outscored the Pioneers in the fourth quarter, 20-16, and outshot GSU 53.9 percent (7-of-13) compared to 29.2 percent (7-of-24).
• West Liberty shot 22-of-51 (43.1%) from the field, 10-of-27 (37.0%) from 3-point range, and 20-of-26 (76.9%) from the free throw line compared to 36-of-86 (41.9%) from the field, 5-of-24 (20.8%) from 3-point range, and 16-of-22 (72.7%) from the free throw line for Glenville State.
• The Pioneers held the advantage in points in the paint (50-24), points off turnovers (37-17), second chance points (16-3), fast break points (22-16), and bench points (26-7).
• With 27 and 23 points respectively for Thomas and Smith it was the second game this season, and the past week, where a pair of Hilltoppers have each scored 20 or more points. McCutcheon and Thomas scored 23 and 20 against Fairmont State last weekend.
• Riccardo made it three players in double figures scoring with 12 points in the game and added 11 rebounds to join Thomas, who grabbed ten rebounds, in securing their second double-doubles of the season. It was the second time this season that a pair of WLU players had a double-double in the same game and first since the season opener against Mercyhurst when Thomas (15 points, 12 rebounds) and McCutcheon (20 points, 10 rebounds) did so.
• Three WLU players connected on a 3-pointer in the game as Smith knocked down a game-high five shots from beyond the arc while Thomas connected on four and McCutcheon added one.

WEST LIBERTY STATISTICAL LEADERS
Corinne Thomas: 27 points, 4-of-7 3-pointers, 10 rebounds, 4 steals, 3 assists
Bailee Smith: 23 points., 5-of-8 3-pointers, 3 assists, 1 rebound
Jenna Riccardo: 12 points, 6-of-9 free throws, 11 rebounds, 1 block
 
POST GAME PRESS CONFERENCE (HEAD COACH KYLE COOPER, CORINNE THOMAS, AND BAILEE SMITH)


UP NEXT
West Liberty will remain at home in the midst of a 3-game homestand when they face Salem for their final out of conference game on Wednesday, January 24. The Hilltoppers and Tigers are set for a 5:30 p.m. tip-off inside the ASRC.