INSTITUTE, W.Va. -- After trailing by three at the half, Fairmont State shot 52 percent from the floor and scored 18 points off turnovers in the second half to pull away from West Virginia State for a 70-55 Mountain East Conference victory on Saturday afternoon at the Convocation Center in Institute.

Fairmont State shot just 23.5 percent from the floor in the opening half and made just eight field goals.

Emily Lohr led the Falcons with 21 points and 12 rebounds in the victory. Emily Puskarich scored 16 of her 19 points in the second half and also added five rebounds, four assists and three steals on the afternoon. Hailey Garrett was the third FSU player to reach double figures with 10 points.

Fairmont State (7-2, 2-2 MEC) held a 42-36 advantage on the glass and scored 22 points off turnovers in the victory. FSU also knocked down 21-of-24 free throw attempts and limited its turnovers to 12 in the win.

West Virginia State (2-5, 0-3 MEC) was led by Ashley Current with 15 points and nine rebounds in the game, including seven boards on the offensive end. Aurreshae Hines came off the bench and chipped in eight points for the Yellow Jackets. WVSU had eight blocked shots and 10 steals in the game.

The Yellow Jackets opened up a quick 11-4 advantage in the game after Current scored eight of WVSU first 11 points in the opening 7:28 of the game. WV State maintained its lead for the next seven minutes before a layup by Gabrielle Etter at the 5:48 mark tied the game at 21-21.

Deyahnna Styles pushed the State lead back to six with under two minutes remaining in the first half but Lohr sunk a three with 40 seconds remaining to send the game to halftime trailing 31-28.

The Yellow Jackets maintained their lead for the first 4:36 of the second half before Hallie Gunnoe put the Falcons in front with a fast-break layup. After WV State regained the lead on the next possession, Fairmont State went on a 12-2 run over a three-minute stretch to grab a 46-37 lead. Lohr scored five points, including a three-pointer to cap the run.

The Falcons led the remainder of the game and stretched the margin to a 70-55 final score after knocking down free throws in the final minute.

Fairmont State will now be idle until December 17 when they host Bluefield State. Tip is set for 6 p.m.