South Euclid, Ohio – The West Liberty University women's basketball team looked to be in control as they gained the lead late in the first quarter and held the advantage until a late Notre Dame rally resulted in a heartbreaking 69-68 loss inside Murphy Gymnasium on Wednesday night. The Hilltoppers led by double figures early in the second and fourth quarters, however the Falcons found a way to claw back within striking distance and eventually made 1-of-2 free throws with just five seconds remaining in the contest.
 
QUICK DETAILS
Final Score: West Liberty 68, Notre Dame 69
Team Records: West Liberty 9-18 (6-13 MEC), Notre Dame 9-18 (6-14 MEC)
Attendance: 200
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Notre Dame opened the game with the first four points and held a narrow lead of no more than five points until an 8-0 scoring run gave West Liberty their first lead of the game. A layup plus a free throw by Karly McCutcheon tied the game at 17 apiece with 3:52 remaining in the quarter and she then gave WLU their first lead of the contest at 19-17 with 3:04 to play with a fastbreak layup off a steal. A free throw by Corinne Thomas extended the Hilltopper lead to five points (22-17), however the Falcons ended the scoring run with a pair of free throws to draw within 22-19 at the end of the opening period.
• West Liberty extended their scoring run to 15-2 in the opening minutes of the second quarter as Jenna Riccardo scored on a pair of layups and Grace Faulk knocked down a 3-pointer off an assist from Paige Jullian to make it a double digit lead (29-19) with 6:46 left in the opening half. After a pair of free throws by Julian, Notre Dame began to chip away at the WLU lead with a 9-2 run of their own to draw within three points (33-30) with just over two minutes left on the clock. Another pair of free throws by Julian and a layup by Thomas stalled the Falcon momentum, however a 3-pointer in the closing seconds for NDC cut the West Liberty lead to 37-33 at the break.
• With the first three points of the third quarter, Notre Dame drew within one point (37-36), however a layup by Riccardo and a 3-pointer by Bailee Smith kept West Liberty in front and pushed their lead back to six (42-36) with 6:31 left in the period. Following another basket from beyond the arc by Smith to extend the lead to seven (47-40) with just under five minutes left on the clock, NDC scored five unanswered to claw back within two (47-45) once again with 3:12 remaining in the third. The Hilltoppers continued to hold the lead entering the fourth quarter by a score of 53-50.
• A layup by Bailey Beckstedt sparked an 8-0 scoring run for West Liberty to open the fourth quarter as they pushed the lead back to double figures for their largest lead (61-50) with 8:08 to play. Notre Dame, however, refused to go away following the 3-pointer by Thomas to put the Hilltoppers up 11 as NDC outscored WLU 19-7 to close the game. The Falcons scored the final five points of the game as they tied the game with a layup with 49 seconds to play, and they took the lead for the first time since the first quarter as they went 1-of-2 at the free throw line with five seconds to play.
• West Liberty shot 21-of-63 (33.3%) from the field, 8-of-28 (28.6%) from 3-point range, and 18-of-23 (78.3%) from the free throw line compared to 27-of-67 (40.3%) from the field, 4-of-16 (25.0%) from 3-point range, and 11-of-23 (47.8%) from the free throw line for Notre Dame.
• The Hilltoppers held the advantage in points off turnovers (27-17), fast break points (17-9), and bench points (11-9) while the Falcons held the edge in points in the paint (46-26) and second chance points (19-5).
• WLU continued their consistent shooting at the free throw line as they are now 111-of-138 (80.4%) from the charity stripe in their last six contests.
• Thomas led three players in double figures with 18 points in the game while McCutcheon and Smith added 17 and 11 points respectively.
• Four WLU players connected on a 3-pointer in the game, led by Smith with three while McCutcheon and Thomas both knocked down two apiece.
• As a team West Liberty collected a season-high 15 steals in the contest as they forced 24 Notre Dame turnovers. Leading the way for WLU defensively was McCutcheon and Bailey Beckstedt who both notched career-highs with five steals apiece.

WEST LIBERTY STATISTICAL LEADERS
Corinne Thomas: 18 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 1 block
Karly McCutcheon: 17 points, 5 steals, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block
Bailee Smith: 11 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, 1 steal
 
UP NEXT
West Liberty will close the regular season with a game at Wheeling on Saturday, March 2. The Hilltoppers and Cardinals are slated for a 2 p.m. tip-off inside the Alma Grace McDonough Center in Wheeling.