FAIRMONT, W.Va. -- Fairmont State used a 19-5 run early in the second half to pull away from West Virginia State, 78-64, on Thursday evening at Joe Retton Arena. Hailey Garrett scored a team-high 24 points to lead the Falcons in the victory.

With the win, FSU improves to 15-4 overall and 9-4 in Mountain East Conference games. WV State falls to 5-12 overall and 3-9 in the league.

WV State opened up a six-point lead early in the opening half before turnovers allowed FSU to grab the lead for good at the 9:29 mark. With FSU leading, 19-17, the Falcons used a 16-8 run over the next five minutes to grab a ten-point advantage late in the half. However, the Yellow Jackets closed out the opening half on an 8-2 run to cut the halftime margin to just four points, 37-33.

The Falcons forced 16 tunovers and scored 16 points at the opposite end to erase an early WV State lead. FSU also had five offensive rebounds and scored nine points on putbacks in the opening half.

In the second half with the scored tied at 41-41, the Falcons used a game-changing 19-5 run to grab a 60-46 lead at the 10:45 mark. Garrett scored four points and Hallie Gunnoe and Emily Puskarich each hit key threes during the stretch for FSU. The Falcons continued to increase their lead to as many as 17 in the second half before settling for the 78-64 victory.

In addition to Garrett, Hallie Gunnoe scored 14, Emily Lohr added 11 and Emily Puskarich and Deidra Combs both chipped in 10 for the Falcons. Gabrielle Etter filled the stat sheet with five points, six rebounds, six assists and a steal.

Shealyn Shafer scored a team-high 17 points and pulled down a game-high eight rebounds for the Yellow Jackets. Deyahnna Styles also reached double figures with 16 for WVSU.

Fairmont State scored 21 points off turnovers and shot 52.5 percent from the field in the victory. FSU was also 8-of-11 from the free throw line and recorded 20 assists. WV State shot just 42 percent from the field and turned the ball over 21 times in the loss. The Yellow Jackets were also solid from the free throw line, sinking 22-of-24 attempts.

FSU will host WV Wesleyan on Saturday afternoon starting at 2 p.m. at Joe Retton Arena. FSU survived the first meeting between the teams, a 74-67 overtime victory back in November.