West Liberty, W.Va. – The West Liberty University women's basketball team will face their final non-conference opponent of the regular season on Wednesday night when they host Salem and look to complete the season sweep. The Hilltoppers and Tigers are set for a 5:30 p.m. tip-off inside the ASRC.

GAME DETAILS

• Location: West Liberty, W.Va. (Academic Sports & Recreation Complex "ASRC")
• Tip-Off: 5:30 P.M.

WEST LIBERTY STORYLINES

• West Liberty enters Wednesday's game with a record of 6-10 (4-5 MEC) on the season following a 93-74 loss at home to (RV) Glenville State on Saturday evening.
• The Hilltoppers are currently eighth place in the league standings.
• Through 16 games, WLU is averaging 74.3 points, 36.1 rebounds, 17.2 assists, 7.6 steals, and 3.1 blocks per game, while shooting the ball 39.7 percent from the field, 35.5 percent from 3-point range, and 68.4 percent from the free throw line.
• West Liberty ranks within the top-25 of NCAA Division II in four statistical categories, ranking second in 3-pointers per game (10.7), fourth in 3-point attempts per game (30.1), 14^th in assists per game (17.2), and 22^nd in 3-point percentage (35.5%).
• Corinne Thomas leads the Hilltoppers in scoring with 18.8 points per game, ranking third in the conference and 24^th nationally. She is joined by Karly McCutcheon (13.2), Bailee Smith (12.8), and Jenna Riccardo (10.6) as four players average double figures.
• During the past week Smith led the Hilltoppers with 24.0 points, 4.5 assists, and 2.5 rebounds per game while shooting the ball 51.7 percent from the field, 60.0 percent from 3-point range, and 90.0 percent from the free throw line. Thomas also made a key impact with 22.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 2.5 steals per game while shooting the ball 46.4 percent from the field, 42.9 percent from 3-point range, and 92.3 percent from the free throw line against Concord and (RV) Glenville State.
• Thomas has eight games of 20 or more points this season while McCutcheon and Smith have added three and two respectively. Both of Smith's games occurred in the last week with 25 against the Mountain Lions and 23 against the Pioneers.
• The duo of Thomas and McCutcheon are two of the top shooters from beyond the arc in DII. Thomas leads DII with 3.50 3-pointers per game and is second with 56 total 3-pointers, while McCutcheon is 31^st in both categories with 2.56 3-pointers per game and 41 total 3-pointers. Thomas is 56-of-149 for 37.6 percent and McCutcheon is 41-of-122 for 333.6 percent from deep.
• The Hilltoppers have recorded double digit 3-point field goal totals in 12 of their 16 games this season, including 13 or more made from beyond the arc in five contests. McCutcheon and Thomas have each connected on a season-high six 3-pointers once this year.
• Riccardo averages a team-high 6.2 rebounds per game and has secured seven or more boards on nine occasions, including a season-high of 11 in the last outing against GSU. She ranks tenth in the MEC with 2.6 offensive rebounds per game. Thomas is second on the team with 5.7 rebounds per game.
• For the second time this season a pair of Hilltoppers posted double-doubles in the same game as Thomas (27 points, 10 rebounds) and Riccardo (12 points, 11 rebounds) did so against the Pioneers. It was Thomas' third of the season while Riccardo now has two. McCutcheon has one double-double in 2023-24.
• Thomas, Smith, and Bailey Beckstedt have been the facilitators of the Hilltopper offense. Thomas leads the team and ranks third in the league with 3.9 assists per game and is fourth in the MEC with 62 total assists. Smith ranks sixth in the conference with an average of 3.7 assists per game and 59 total assists. Beckstedt rounds out the group with an assists per game average of 3.1 that ranks ninth in the conference and a total assist mark of 49 that is eighth. Smith and Thomas have each recorded four or more assists on eight occasions while Beckstedt has five times.
• Defensively, Thomas ranks eighth in the league with 36 total steals and an average of 2.25 steals per game. She has tallied 11 multi-steal games on the year and notched a season-high of four on five different occasions, including Saturday's game against the Pioneers.
• McCutcheon has been the rim protector for the Hilltoppers, ranking fifth in the MEC with 15 total blocked shots and is sixth with 0.94 blocks per game. She has posted a season-high of three blocks on two occasions and Saturday against GSU was her fourth multi-block game of the year.
• Kyle Cooper is in his seventh season as the head coach at West Liberty with a career record of 98-83 with the Hilltoppers.

SALEM STORYLINES

• Salem enters Wednesday's game with a record of 3-13 on the season following their fifth consecutive loss, a 74-53 defeat at home to Frostburg State
• Through 16 games SU is averaging 63.5 points, 37.8 rebounds, 13.8 assists, 6.8 steals, and 3.8 blocks per game while shooting the ball 42.0 percent from the field, 34.3 percent from 3-point range, and 69.1 percent from the free throw line.
• The lone Tiger averaging double figures in scoring is Elena Pericic with 13.5 points per game. She has scored 20 or more points in three games this year while Anete Bluma is the only other player to do so this season with 22 against Winston-Salem State.
• Emerson Wells has connected on a team-best 36 made 3-pointers, shooting 36-of-95 (37.9%) from deep this year. Teodora Popovic is shooting better than 40.0 percent from beyond the arc, making 27-of-67 for 40.3 percent.
• Pericic also leads Salem on the glass, averaging 8.4 rebounds per game. She has recorded seven double-doubles this season with points and rebounds, ranking 21^st in DII.
• Popovic and Carine Pinkney are the two primary facilitators of the Tiger offense, dishing out 3.6 and 3.3 assists per game respectively. Popovic has posted one double-double this season with 14 points and 11 assists in a win over Seton Hill. Pinkney has dished out five or more assists on six occasions while Popovic has five times.
• Pericic leads the team with 1.6 steals per game and Pinkney has collected an average of 1.1 this year. Pericic has notched seven multi-steal games while Pinkney has three.
• Pericic is the rim protector for the Tiger defense, averaging 1.9 blocks per game. She has secured a season-high of four blocks in three games this season while collecting nine multi-block games.
• Nikayla Edgell is in her first season as the head coach at Salem with a career-record of 3-13 during her time with the Tigers.

SERIES HISTORY

• West Liberty holds the all-time series lead 38-15 and has won 11 of the past 13 meetings against Salem.
• The teams met earlier this season on November 18, 2023, in Salem, West Virginia, where the Hilltoppers earned a 74-68 win in overtime against the Tigers.
• Corinne Thomas scored a game-high 23 points in the win, knocking down six 3-pointers and grabbing seven rebounds. Bailee Smith also scored 17 points and was 9-of-11 from the free throw line while also dishing out five assists and grabbing three rebounds.