Frostburg, Md. – In a tale of two halves the West Liberty University women's basketball team saw a double-digit first half lead slip away as they fell to Frostburg State 94-88 on Wednesday night. The Hilltoppers led by as many as 17 points in the first half following a 19-3 scoring run, however the Bobcats outscored the Black & Gold 55-41 in the second half to earn the come from behind win.
 
QUICK DETAILS
Final Score: West Liberty 88, Frostburg State 94
Team Records: West Liberty 8-15 (5-10 MEC), Frostburg State 14-9 (11-5 MEC)
Attendance: 297
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• With a 3-pointer by Corinne Thomas from the left wing, the Hilltoppers jumped out to a 9-3 lead and forced a Frostburg State timeout with 7:34 to play in the first quarter. The lead grew to nine points with a 3-pointer by Bailey Beckstedt a minute and a half later, however a 9-2 Bobcat scoring run trimmed the lead back down to two points (16-14) with 3:10 left in the opening period. Grace Faulk stalled the scoring run with a layup with 2:27 left on the clock, marking the last made field goal of the quarter for WLU prior to Paige Julian knocking down 2-of-2 free throws on a pair of trips to the charity stripe for a 22-19 advantage entering the second quarter.
• With 3-pointers by Bailee Smith and Thomas to open the second quarter, West Liberty scored the first ten points of the period and extended a scoring run from the opening quarter to 19-3 as they built a 17 point advantage (37-20) with 6:13 left till halftime. Frostburg State responded with a 9-2 scoring run to cut the WLU lead down to ten points (39-29) with 3:39 left in the second period before the Hilltoppers momentarily pushed the lead back to 14 on a pair of occasions as Paige Julian connected on a 3-pointer and Smith hit pair of free throws. FSU ended the first half on a 7-1 scoring run to trim the margin to single digits as the Black & Gold entered halftime with a 47-39 lead.
• West Liberty pushed their lead back to double digits one final time as Karly McCutcheon scored a layup on their opening possession of the third quarter to make it 49-39, however Frostburg State continued to chip away at the lead. The Bobcats took their first lead of the game as Emilee Weakley, DII's leading scorer, made a layup to give them a 54-53 advantage with 5:33 to play. The lead traded hands the next six possessions before a 3-pointer by Maggie Sharp gave FSU the lead for good as it sparked an 8-0 run. Jenna Riccardo stalled the scoring run with a pair of free throws and Smith added a 3-pointer to trim the score back to two at 66-64 with 2:23 left in the third. Julian scored on a layup with 1:27 left on the clock to cut the deficit to one (68-67) with 1:27 on the clock before Frostburg State scored the final three points of the period to take a 71-67 lead into the fourth.
• A 9-2 scoring run in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter pushed the Frostburg State lead to double digits for the first time at 82-71 with 7:43 left in the game before McCutcheon stalled the run with five consecutive points from a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws. The Hilltoppers then extended it to an 11-2 run of their own as back-to-back 3-pointers by Smith and Thomas cut the deficit to two points (84-82) with 4:47 on the clock. Thomas snapped a scoreless drought of more than three minutes with two baskets from beyond the arc in the final minutes, cutting the Bobcat lead down to one (86-85) with 1:39 left on the clock and she the then hit another with 30 seconds remaining to cut it to one (90-88), but Frostburg State shot 8-of-10 in the final minute to seal the 94-88 home win.
• West Liberty shot 28-of-59 (47.5%) from the field, 12-of-27 (44.4%) from 3-point range, and 20-of-22 (90.9%) from the free throw line compared to 32-of-66 (48.5%) from the field, 2-of-10 (20.0%) from 3-point range, and 28-of-38 (73.7%) from the free throw line for Frostburg State.
• The Bobcats held the advantage in points in the paint (50-32), points off turnovers (25-15), second chance points (12-3), and fast break points (25-21) while the Hilltoppers held the edge in bench points (13-12).
• WLU reached 20 made free throws for the third consecutive game and are 62-of-79 (78.5%) in those games.
• The Hilltopper defense held the Bobcats to 2-of-10 (20.0%) from beyond the arc, the 11^th time in the last 15 games they have held an opponent below 30 percent from 3-point range. During the 15 game stretch their opponents are only 52-of-220 for 23.6 percent from deep.
• Thomas and Smith led West Liberty in scoring with 23 and 20 points respectively, marking their 12^th and fourth times they've reached the 20-point mark during 2023-24. It was also the second consecutive game that a pair of players have notched 20 or more points in the same game and the fifth time this season.
• Riccardo secured her second consecutive and fourth double-double of the season with a team-high ten rebounds to go along with her 13 points in the contest.
• Five WLU players connected on a 3-pointer in the game, led by Thomas and Smith with five and four made baskets from beyond the arc. Thomas has now knocked down three or more 3-pointers in 18 games this year while Smith has done so in 11 games.

WEST LIBERTY STATISTICAL LEADERS
Corinne Thomas: 23 points, 5-of-8 3-pointers, 4 rebounds
Bailee Smith: 20 points, 4-of-6 3-pointers, 5 assists, 5 steals, 3 rebounds
Karly McCutcheon: 15 points, 6-of-10 3-pointers, 3 assists, 1 rebound, 1 block
Jenna Riccardo: 13 points, 5-of-6 free throws, 10 rebounds, 1 assist
 
UP NEXT
West Liberty will return home on Saturday, February 17, when they take on (RV) Fairmont State. The Hilltoppers and Falcons are slated for a 2 p.m. tip-off inside the ASRC.