West Liberty, W.Va. – On a day filled with season-best and career-best performances, it was the leadership of the upperclassmen that led West Liberty to a 110-103 win over Concord on senior day. After getting recognized prior to their final games inside the ASRC, career-highs by Corinne Thomas and Jenna Riccardo, as well as a season-high performance by Grace Faulk, the senior trio willed the Hilltoppers to a season-best 110 points as they withstood one final fourth quarter push from the Mountain Lions.
 
QUICK DETAILS
Final Score: West Liberty 110, Concord 103
Team Records: West Liberty 9-17 (6-12 MEC), Concord 15-11 (10-8 MEC)
Attendance: 477
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• After falling behind 7-2 in the opening minutes, three consecutive layups by Jenna Riccardo sparked a 12-4 scoring run as West Liberty took a 14-13 lead into the media timeout with 4:22 to play. All three seniors found the bottom of the net by that time as Riccardo tallied six points, five from Corinne Thomas, and three from Grace Faulk. In the closing minutes of the period, Faulk, Riccardo, and Karly McCutcheon connected on back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers as they pushed their lead to seven (26-19). The first ten minutes of play came to a close with the Hilltoppers posting their highest scoring period of the season with a 30-24 lead, with the help of six early baskets from beyond the arc.
• Concord opened the second quarter on a 9-0 scoring run to take a 33-30 lead with 7:35 to play in the quarter before Bailey Beckstedt stalled the momentum with a 3-pointer of her own off an assist from Riccardo. The Mountain Lions led by as many as six points (42-36) after back-to-back 3-pointers, however a 3-pointer by Thomas opened a stretch of seven consecutive points for the Hilltoppers to regain the lead (43-42) with 4:02 to play after a layup by McCutcheon. Marking the fourth lead change of the quarter, a 3-pointer from Bailee Smith gave WLU a 46-44 lead with 3:01 left in the quarter and they would hold that lead the remainder of the half as they took a 54-51 lead into the break, the highest scoring half of the season for West Liberty.
• Thomas scored the first four points of the third quarter for West Liberty with a pair of free throws and a layup while Concord was able to chip away and tie the game at 58 apiece with 8:13 left in the period. A jumper by Faulk gave the Hilltoppers the momentum and the lead back as it led to six unanswered points and a 9-2 scoring run as another 3-pointer by Thomas put WLU in front by seven (67-60) with 5:16 on the clock. WLU ended the quarter with an 8-0 scoring run as a layup by Paige Julian pushed their lead to double digits (75-65) and a free throw by Julian made it a 79-65 advantage entering the fourth, their largest lead of the game.
• The West Liberty lead remained in double figures in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter as the margin bounced around from 11 to 14 points until Concord managed to trim it to nine points (86-77) with a layup with 6:27 left in the game. Thomas and Smith momentarily pushed the lead back to double digits on two different occasions with a 3-pointer and a layup, but the Mountain Lions would stay within single digits the final four minutes of action. CU cut the lead to four (92-88) and five (95-90), however that would be as close as they would come as Smith and Thomas knocked down clutch shots from beyond the arc to keep their opponents at bay. The Hilltoppers would ice the game away at the charity stripe with 10-of-14 shooting in the final two minutes of game time to secure a 110-103 victory.
• West Liberty shot 35-of-63 (55.6%) from the field, 17-of-33 (51.5%) from 3-point range, and 23-of-31 (74.2%) from the free throw line compared to 37-of-80 (46.3%) from the field, 9-of-21 (42.9%) from 3-point range, and 20-of-28 (71.4%) from the free throw line for Concord.
• The Hilltoppers held the advantage in points off turnovers (20-14) and fast break points (23-8) while the Mountain Lions held the edge in points in the paint (52-36), second chance points (21-9), and bench points (11-10).
• WLU continued their consistent shooting at the free throw line as they are now 93-of-115 (80.9%) from the charity stripe in their last five contests.
• West Liberty broke their season-high of points in a quarter twice on the night with 30 points in the first quarter and 31 in the fourth quarter while also breaking their season-high marks of points in a half in both the first (54) and second (56) halves.
• Additional season-high marks included assists (28), 3-pointers (17), blocked shots (8), field goal percentage (55.6%) and 3-point percentage (51.5%), while tying the season-high mark for field goals made (35)
• Thomas and Riccardo led five players in double figures scoring with career-high marks of 34 and 25 points respectively. Also in double figures was McCutcheon with 17, Smith with 13, and Faulk with a season-high 11 points.
• Thomas grabbed a team-high nine rebounds in the game, the tenth time this season she has collected eight or more boards in a game.
• Beckstedt recorded a career-high nine assists in the game while Thomas added seven. It was the seventh time that each of them dished out five or more assists in a game this season.
• Another career-high for the Hilltoppers was McCutcheon who posted four blocked shots in the game.
• Six WLU players connected on a 3-pointer in the game, led by Thomas who tied a season-high with six baskets from beyond the arc in the game. McCutcheon and Faulk each added three made shots from deep.

WEST LIBERTY STATISTICAL LEADERS
Corinne Thomas: 34 points, 6-of-11 3-pointers, 9 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 block, 1 steal
Jenna Riccardo: 25 points, 10-of-15 field goals, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks
Karly McCutcheon: 17 points, 3-of-8 3-pointers, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 blocks, 1 steal
 
POST GAME PRESS CONFERENCE (JENNA RICCARDO, GRACE FAULK, CORINNE THOMAS, AND HEAD COACH KYLE COOPER)


UP NEXT
West Liberty will close the regular season with two consecutive road contests, starting with a trip to Notre Dame on Wednesday, February 28. The Hilltoppers and Falcons are slated for a 5:30 p.m. tip-off inside Murphy Gymnasium in South Euclid, Ohio.