WISE, Va. – Fairmont State shot 59 percent from the floor in the opening half to jump out to an 18-point halftime advantage and went on to defeat the University of Virginia's College at Wise, 69-56, on Monday evening in Mountain East Conference action at the Prior Convocation Center.

With the win, the Falcons have won seven-straight games and improve to 13-2 overall and 7-2 in MEC play. Virginia-Wise falls to 5-10 overall and 4-5 in the league.

Hailey Garrett went 7-of-8 from the field and netted 14 points for the Falcons in the opening half. The Falcons jumped out to a 14-4 lead just six minutes into the game after a jumper by Garrett. From that point, FSU maintained a double-digit advantage for the remainder of the opening half and grabbed its largest lead at the 3:11 mark after a three by Gabrielle Etter. In addition to red-hot shooting in the first half, FSU also had 15 assists on 19 made field goals and scored 14 points off 12 UVa-Wise turnovers.

Fairmont State led by as many as 23 at the 12:01 mark of the second half before the Cavs cut the final score to 69-56 late.
In the game, FSU went 30-of-60 (50%) from the floor and held a slim 39-35 advantage on the glass. UVa-Wise shot just 37 percent from the field on the evening. The Falcons also had 20 assists on 30 field goals and had 23 points off turnovers in the victory.

Emily Lohr recorded her third-straight, 20-point performance with 21 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Garrett battled foul trouble in the second half and finished the game with 16 points and six boards. Hallie Gunnoe also reached double-figures with 14 points for the Falcons.

Taylor Sandidge finished with a team-best 17 points and seven assists for the Cavaliers. Kayla Carey (12) and Kehana Grayer (11) also reached double figures for UVa-Wise. Naya Williams led the Cavs on the glass with seven boards.

Fairmont State will be idle until next Saturday when preseason-favorite West Liberty comes to town for a 2 p.m. tip.