West Liberty, W.Va. – The West Liberty University women's basketball team will round out the month with a visit to West Virginia State on Wednesday, January 31. The Hilltoppers will look to avenge a loss to the Yellow Jackets earlier this season as they tip-off at 5:30 p.m. inside the Walker Convocation Center in Institute, West Virginia.

GAME DETAILS

• Location: Institute, W.Va. (Walker Convocation Center)
• Tip-Off: 5:30 P.M.

WEST LIBERTY STORYLINES

• West Liberty enters Wednesday's game with a record of 7-11 (4-6 MEC) on the season following an 83-78 overtime loss at home to Wheeling on Sunday afternoon.
• The Hilltoppers are currently eighth place in the league standings.
• Through 18 games, WLU is averaging 75.8 points, 36.7 rebounds, 17.6 assists, 7.1 steals, and 3.2 blocks per game, while shooting the ball 39.9 percent from the field, 35.2 percent from 3-point range, and 69.9 percent from the free throw line.
• West Liberty ranks within the top-25 of NCAA Division II in six statistical categories, ranking second in 3-pointers per game (10.7), fourth in 3-point attempts per game (30.3), 12^th in assists per game (17.6), 18^th in 3-point percentage (35.2%), 20^th in free throw attempts per game (21.78) and scoring offense (75.8)
• Corinne Thomas leads the Hilltoppers in scoring with 19.6 points per game, ranking third in the conference and tenth nationally. Amongst the MEC's scoring leaders she is also joined by Karly McCutcheon who is 13^th in the league with 13.5 points per game. Rounding out the four players averaging double figures are Bailee Smith and Jenna Riccardo who average 13.2 and 10.5 respectively.
• Thomas and Smith have been making their presence known in the last four outings as they each averaged more than 20 points per game in those contests. During that span Thomas is averaging 23.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.8 steals per game while shooting the ball 39.7 percent from the field, 42.9 percent from 3-point range, and 93.8 percent from the free throw line. Smith is close behind with 20.0 points, 4.3 assists, and 2.5 rebounds per game while shooting the ball 48.1 percent from the field, 50.0 percent from 3-point range, and 92.9 percent from the free throw line.
• Thomas has ten games of 20 or more points this season following a season-high of 30 against Wheeling on Sunday, while McCutcheon and Smith have each added three. All of Smith's games occurred in the last four games for WLU.
• The duo of Thomas and McCutcheon are two of the top shooters from beyond the arc in DII. Thomas leads DII with 65 total 3-pointers and 3.61 3-pointers per game, while McCutcheon is fifth in the MEC and 41^st nationally in both categories with 44 total 3-pointers and 2.44 3-pointers per game. Smith leads the conference and ranks 39^th in DII with a 3-point percentage, knocking down 36-of-93 from deep for 38.7 percent while Thomas is 65-of-170 for 38.2 percent and McCutcheon is 44-of-137 for 32.1 percent from deep.
• The Hilltoppers have recorded double digit 3-point field goal totals in 13 of their 18 games this season, including 13 or more made from beyond the arc in six contests. McCutcheon and Thomas have each connected on a season-high six 3-pointers once this year. Dating back to 2010 the WLU has made multiple 3-pointers in 413 consecutive games.
• Riccardo averages a team-high 6.1 rebounds per game and has secured seven or more boards on 11 occasions, including a season-high of 11 against GSU. She ranks 12^th in the MEC with 2.4 offensive rebounds per game. Thomas is second on the team with 5.9 rebounds per game.
• Thomas leads the team with four double-doubles this season while Riccardo and McCutcheon each have two this year.
• Smith, Thomas, Bailey Beckstedt, and McCutcheon have all played pivotal roles in facilitating the Hilltopper offense. Smith leads the team and ranks third in the league with 3.7 assists per game while Thomas is sixth with an average of 3.6 assists per game. After a career-high of eight assists against Salem this past week, Beckstedt's season average has jumped up to 3.4 assists per game and is eighth in the MEC. McCutcheon rounds out the group with 2.8 assists per game for 12^th in the conference. Smith has recorded four or more assists on nine occasions while Thomas, Beckstedt, and McCutcheon have eight, seven, and four times respectively.
• Defensively, Thomas ranks ninth in the league with 38 total steals and is tenth with an average of 2.11 steals per game. She has tallied 12 multi-steal games on the year and notched a season-high of four on five different occasions.
• McCutcheon and Paige Julian have been the rim protectors for the Hilltoppers. McCutcheon ranks sixth and seventh in the MEC with 16 total blocked shots and an average of 0.89 per game while Julian is ninth in the league in both with 14 total blocked shots and an average of 0.82 per game. McCutcheon has posted a season-high of three blocks on two occasions and notched a total of four multi-block games this year while Julian has three multi-block games.
• Kyle Cooper is in his seventh season as the head coach at West Liberty with a career record of 99-84 with the Hilltoppers.

WEST VIRGINIA STATE STORYLINES

• West Virginia State enters Wednesday's game with a record of 10-8 (6-5 MEC) on the season following a 104-101 loss in double overtime at Charleston on Saturday evening.
• The Yellow Jackets are currently tied for fifth place in the league standings with Charleston and Concord.
• Through 18 games WVSU is averaging 81.6 points, 48.7 rebounds, 17.3 assists, 15.5 steals, and 2.3 blocks per game while shooting the ball 37.1 percent from the field, 28.1 percent from 3-point range, and 66.3 percent from the free throw line.
• West Virginia State ranks within the top-25 of NCAA Division II in ten statistical categories, leading the country in offensive rebounds per game (21.6), rebounds per game (48.72), and 3-point attempts per game (34.4) while also ranking second in bench points per game (42.3), fourth in scoring offense (81.6) and steals per game (15.5), fifth in 3-pointers per game (9.7) and turnovers forced per game (26.94), 13^th in turnover margin (+6.17), and 15^th in assists per game (17.3).
• The duo of Shelby Harmeyer and Anysa Jordan are the only players to average double figures in scoring for the Yellow Jackets with 11.4 and 10.3 points per game. Harmeyer has posted 20 or more points in a pair of games while Jordan, ZZ Russell, and Destiny Fields each have one.
• Harmeyer is the top scoring threat from beyond the arc for WVSU, ranking third in the MEC and 24^th in DII with 49 total 3-pointers and 2.72 3-pointers per game. She is shooting 49-of-141 for 34.8 percent while Russell is 21-of-62 for 33.9 percent.
• Emyah Fortenberry leads the team on the glass, ranking fourth in the conference with 7.6 rebounds per game and has grabbed double digit rebounds on four occasions while notching three double-doubles. Jordan is second on the team with 6.2 boards per game and has secured three double digit rebounding games for two double-doubles.
• Hannah Shriver is the facilitator of the Yellow Jacket offense with 3.6 assists per game. She has dished out five or more assists on six occasions.
• Hallie Bailey is one of ten WVSU players to average 1.0 or more steals per game in 2023-24 with 1.9 on the year while Caroline Scott and Fortenberry are each averaging 1.8 steals per game. Fortenberry has notched 12 multi-steal games this year while Bailey and Scott have recorded ten and seven respectively.
• Fortenberry is the rim protector for West Virginia State, ranking fifth in the MEC with 18 blocked shots and 1.00 blocks per game.
• Charles Marshall is in his eighth season as the head coach at West Virginia State, posting a record of 104-107 during his time with the Yellow Jackets. Overall, he is in his 11th season as a collegiate head coach after spending three prior seasons at Glenville State and holds a career record of 165-136.

SERIES HISTORY

• West Liberty holds a 42-19 advantage in the all-time series record; however, West Virginia State has won seven of the past nine meetings between the teams.
• The Yellow Jackets won the first match-up this season on December 9, 2023, with a 78-61 victory inside the ASRC.
• Corinne Thomas, Jenna Riccardo, and Bailee Smith all scored in double figures in the game with 15, 12, and 11 points respectively. Thomas connected on four 3-pointers in the game while Smith knocked down three.