Wheeling, W.Va. – The West Liberty University women's basketball team saw the 2023-24 season come to a close on Wednesday afternoon as they fell 77-64 to West Virginia Wesleyan in the first round of the MEC Tournament in WesBanco Arena. In what remained a tight battle a majority of the contest, the Hilltoppers looked to be turning the momentum as they tied the game at 41 apiece midway through the third quarter, but a 7-0 response and a 14-2 run in the fourth quarter allowed WVWC to regain control and pull away late.
 
QUICK DETAILS
Final Score: West Liberty 64, West Virginia Wesleyan 77
Team Records: West Liberty 9-20 (6-14 MEC), West Virginia Wesleyan 10-16 (6-14 MEC)
Attendance: 500
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Following an offensive rebound and layup by Jenna Riccardo to give West Liberty the 2-0 lead after the opening possession, West Virginia Wesleyan responded and went on an 8-2 run to go up 8-4 with 7:09 left on the first quarter clock. Riccardo stalled the run with a pair of free throws followed by Grace Faulk who ended a nearly two and a half minute scoring drought for WLU to give them a 9-8 advantage with 4:14 remaining in the period. The Bobcats once again responded with a 7-2 rally to regain the lead for good as they jumped out to a 15-11 lead. Bailee Smith knocked down her first shot from beyond the arc to draw West Liberty within one (15-14) before WVWC ended the first period with a pair of jumpers to go up 19-14 entering the second quarter.
• Bailee Smith started the second quarter by converting an old fashioned 3-point play with a layup plus the free throw to cut the deficit down to two points (19-17), however scoring was sparse for the Hilltoppers in the opening minutes as it wasn't until nearly three minutes later that Bailey Beckstedt scored the next points to once again to make it a two point game (21-19) with 6:19 left till halftime. After Beckstedt's basket it once again wasn't until two minutes later that Smith connected on her second 3-pointer to end a run of five unanswered for the Bobcats as they had built a lead of seven (26-19). Beginning with Smith's shot from deep the Hilltoppers were once again within two points after a stretch where they outscored WVWC 9-4, but the Bobcats tacked on a jumper in the closing seconds to go up 32-28 at the break.
• In the opening minutes of the third quarter the lead for West Virginia Wesleyan ranged from 2-6 points in the first five minutes of play before a 3-pointer from Beckstedt and a layup by Karly McCutcheon tied the game at 41 apiece and looked to being turning the momentum in the favor of the Hilltoppers as the Bobcats were forced to call a timeout with 4:56 to play in the period. WVWC, however, was able to maintain their composure out of the timeout and scored the next seven points to swing the momentum back in their favor. Corinne Thomas broke up the scoring run with an old-fashioned 3-point play as she made the driving layup and added a free throw, but WVWC ended the third with a pair of free throws to make it a 50-44 game entering the fourth.
• Smith scored the first points of the fourth quarter to bring West Liberty within four points (50-46), however that would be the closest the game would be in the final period. West Virginia Wesleyan scored the next six points to push the lead to double figures for the first time at 56-46 with 7:23 to play. A pair of free throws by Paige Julian broke up the run momentarily, but the Bobcats extended their run to 10-2 as four free throws made it a 60-48 game. A 6-2 run with five points from Riccardo trimmed the deficit to single digits for the final time as WLU was within eight (62-54) with 4:32 to play. A 14-2 scoring run gave WVWC their largest lead of the game (76-56) with 50 seconds remaining in the contest before 3-pointers by McCutcheon and Ricardo, plus a layup by McCutcheon saw WLU end the game on an 8-1 run to make the final score 77-64.
• West Liberty shot 22-of-61 (36.1%) from the field, 6-of-29 (20.7%) from 3-point range, and 14-of-16 (87.5%) from the free throw line compared to 25-of-63 (39.7%) from the field, 2-of-11 (18.2%) from 3-point range, and 25-of-31 (80.6%) from the free throw line for West Virginia Wesleyan.
• The Hilltoppers held the advantage in points in the paint (32-28) while the Bobcats held the edge in points off turnovers (11-8), second chance points (23-10), and bench points (25-8). The teams were even with six fast break points apiece.
• WLU continued their consistent shooting at the free throw line as they ended the season 139-of-174 (79.9%) from the charity stripe in their final eight contests.
• The Hilltoppers held their opponents below 30 percent shooting from beyond the arc for the 11^th time in the final 15 games of the season, as their competitors were 67-of-249 (26.9%) in those match-ups.
• Riccardo led four WLU players in double figures with 18 points in the game while Thomas, Smith, and McCutcheon each added 11 points of their own.
• Five WLU players connected on a 3-pointer in the game, led by Smith who knocked down two from beyond the arc.

WEST LIBERTY STATISTICAL LEADERS
Jenna Riccardo: 18 points, 6-of-8 field goals, 6 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block
Corinne Thomas: 11 points, 5-of-6 free throws, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
Bailee Smith: 11 points, 2 3-pointers, 3 rebounds, 1 assist
Karly McCutcheon: 11 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block