Buckhannon, W.Va. – For the fourth time this season 40 minutes of action was not enough for the West Liberty University women's basketball team as they faced West Virginia Wesleyan in an overtime battle on Saturday afternoon, falling 87-81 in the contest. The Hilltoppers fell to 2-2 in games that went to an extra period as they were outscored 18-12 in the final five minutes of the game.
 
QUICK DETAILS
Final Score: West Liberty 81, West Virginia Wesleyan 87 (OT)
Team Records: West Liberty 8-14 (5-9 MEC), West Virginia Wesleyan 7-12 (3-10 MEC)
Attendance: 80
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• After Karly McCutcheon knocked down her first 3-pointer of the game only a minute and a half into the contest, it forced West Virginia Wesleyan to call a quick timeout as West Liberty jumped out to a 5-0 lead. Out of the timeout the Bobcats scored their first basket on a layup, sparking a 9-2 scoring run that was capped by WVWC taking the lead (9-7) on an and-one opportunity. Wesleyan held a lead as large as three points in the opening quarter (15-12) following a 3-pointer by their leading scorer, Sydney Bair, forcing the Hilltoppers to call a timeout with 3:10 remaining in the period. McCutcheon connected on her third 3-pointer of the quarter out of the timeout to tie the game at 15 apiece, however a jumper for West Virginia Wesleyan with 1:43 on the clock gave the Bobcats a 17-15 lead entering the second quarter.
• Once again, the Hilltoppers opened the second quarter with the first five points as McCutcheon evened the game at 17 apiece with a layup and then Corinne Thomas knocked down her first 3-pointer of the game to give WLU the lead just over a minute into the period. Following a pair of free throws for West Virginia Wesleyan to tie the game at 23 just seconds out of the under five media timeout with 4:56 remaining in the half, a layup by Jenna Riccardo sparked a 12-2 scoring run which was capped by Grace Faulk connecting on a 3-pointer off a Bailee Smith assist to send WLU into the break with a 35-25 lead.
• West Virginia Wesleyan opened the third quarter by slowly chipping away at the West Liberty lead, cutting it down to seven before Riccardo knocked down only her fourth basket from beyond the arc this season to push the lead back to double digits (41-31) with 7:11 left to play in the period. The Bobcats responded to the deep ball by Riccardo with a 6-0 scoring run to trim the WLU lead to 41-37 entering the media timeout with 4:54 to play in the third. Riccardo and Faulk made key baskets off assists by Paige Julain to stall the Bobcat momentum as Riccardo scored on a layup and Faulk connected on her second 3-pointer of the contest. In the final minutes of the third quarter, WVWC used an 11-2 scoring run to take a 50-48 lead on a 3-pointer with 40 seconds remaining, however a pair of free throws by Smith with 23 seconds on the clock sent the teams into the fourth quarter knotted up at 50 apiece.
• A layup by Julian capped a 9-2 scoring run in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter to give West Liberty a 7-point lead (61-54) with 6:09 left in regulation. West Virginia Wesleyan, however, quickly swung the momentum back their direction as they regained the lead (63-61) with 4:06 left on the clock following a 9-0 scoring run. Riccardo stalled the rally once again with a pair of free throws, but the Hilltoppers would go four and a half minutes without a made field goal until Smith tied the game at 67 apiece with 1:35 remaining in the period. McCutcheon answered a Wesleyan layup with one of her own with 57 seconds on the clock to tie the game at 69 apiece, sending the game into overtime.
• A 3-pointer off an offensive rebound sparked a 7-2 start to the overtime period for West Virginia Wesleyan, building a 76-71 lead with 3:20 left to play. Following a timeout by the Bobcats with 1:54 remaining on the clock as they had just connected on a layup to push the lead to four (80-76), Smith converted on an and-one opportunity for a 3-point play and Riccardo added a layup to mark five consecutive points for West Liberty and their first lead of the extra period (81-80) with 1:08 remaining in the game. WVWC, however, swung the momentum their direction one final time as they closed the game on a 7-0 scoring run to secure the win, shooting 3-of-4 from the free throw line in the final 30 seconds of action.
• West Liberty shot 25-of-61 (41.0%) from the field, 9-of-27 (33.3%) from 3-point range, and 22-of-27 (81.5%) from the free throw line compared to 33-of-78 (42.3%) from the field, 5-of-13 (38.5%) from 3-point range, and 16-of-20 (80.0%) from the free throw line for West Virginia Wesleyan.
• The Hilltoppers held the advantage in fast break points (7-5) and bench points (10-4) while the Bobcats held the edge in points in the paint (46-32), points off turnovers (7-6), and second chance points (23-21).
• McCutcheon notched her fifth game of 20 or more points on the year with a season-high of 25 points while Riccardo tallied her first career 20-point game with a career-high 21 points. It marks the fourth time this season that a pair of players have scored 20 or more points in the same game for WLU.
• Riccardo also recorded a career-high of 12 rebounds in the game for her third double-double of the season.
• Four WLU players connected on a 3-pointer in the game, led by McCutcheon with four from beyond the arc while Thomas and Faulk each knocked down two. McCutcheon has now connected on three or more 3-pointers in ten games this season.

WEST LIBERTY STATISTICAL LEADERS
Karly McCutcheon: 25 points, 4-of-7 3-pointers, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block
Jenna Riccardo: 21 points, 10-of-12 free throws, 12 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 1 steal
Corinne Thomas: 13 points, 2 3-pointers, 4 rebounds, 2 assists
Bailee Smith: 10 points, 6-of-7 free throws, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal
 
UP NEXT
West Liberty will remain on the road for next week's mid-week game as they travel to Frostburg State on Wednesday, February 14. The Hilltoppers and Bobcats are set for a 5:30 p.m. tip-off inside Bobcat Arena in Frostburg, Maryland.