WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. -- West Liberty was nearly flawless in the opening half to help propel the 'Toppers past Fairmont State, 91-80, on Saturday afternoon at the ASRC.
Fairmont State drops to 19-6 overall and 13-6 in the league and have lost back-to-back games for the first time this season. WLU improves to 17-8 overall and 14-5 in the league.
The Hilltoppers shot 59.5 percent (22-of-37) and went 7-of-9 from behind the arc in the first half to grab a 52-37 lead at the break. West Liberty also held a 25-14 advantage on the glass and got 18 points from Hillary Southworth in the first half. The Falcons were led by
Hallie Gunnoe in the opening half with 11 points as the Falcons were held to 45 percent from the field and just 1-of-6 from three.
In the second half, WLU led by as many as 16 at the 10:02 mark after a jumper by Southworth to make the score 71-55. The Falcons would not go away without a fight though, after using a 20-10 run over the next five minutes to trim the margin to just six at 81-75. However, FSU was unable to get the game any closer and West Liberty pushed the final margin to 91-80.
For the game, the 'Toppers shot 53 percent from the field and 50 percent from behind the arc. FSU was just behind WLU, shooting 49 percent from the field (54 percent in the second half). FSU, one of the top free throw shooting teams in the league, was just 12-of-25 from the line in the loss, including 8-of-18 in the second half. West Liberty held a commanding 49-30 margin on the glass.
The Falcons had four players reach double figures, led by Gunnoe with 19 points.
Hailey Garrett and
Emily Lohr each added 14 and
Amanda Ruffner came off the bench to chip in 13 for the Falcons. Garrett was two rebounds shy of a double-double with eight.
Southworth scored 27 points and pulled down seven rebounds in the victory for WLU. Liz Flowers and Kailee Howe each chipped in 15, Kierra Simpson added 14 points and 15 rebounds down low for the 'Toppers and Jenn Mohney scored 10 off the bench. Howe also passed out seven assists to guide the West Liberty offense.
FSU will return to action on Thursday when Concord visits Joe Retton Arena for a 5:30 p.m. tip.
