FAIRMONT, W.Va. -- Amanda Ruffner's career-high of 27 points and a strong first half by Fairmont State helped lead the Falcons past Urbana, 83-73, on Monday evening inside Joe Retton Arena.
 
With the win, the Falcons improve to 12-4 overall and 6-4 in the Mountain East Conference. Urbana falls to .500 on the season with a 7-7 overall record and a 6-4 mark in league play.
 
The Falcons broke-out to a 27-14 lead after the first quarter of play and pushed their first half lead to as many as 19 at the midway point of the second quarter. Ruffner scored 15 of her 27 in the opening half and the FSU offense rolled by shooting 63 percent (17-of-27) from the field in the first 20 minutes of action.
 
Urbana stormed back in the third by outscoring the Falcons 22-10 in the period. During the quarter, the Blue Knights chipped away at the FSU lead, trimming a 43-27 halftime lead to just two points, 51-49, after a field goal by Stefanie Davis at the 1:09 mark of the quarter. Deidra Combs responded on the next possession for the Falcons, finishing at the rim and giving FSU a 53-49 lead at the quarter break.
 
The margin was a single possession for the first four minutes of the fourth quarter before a quick 6-0 run, keyed by a pair of baskets from Combs, pushed the FSU lead back to nine with 3:52 to play.
 
Back-to-back threes by Urbana, however, cut the score back to three (67-64) with just over three minutes remaining in the game. The Falcons responded one again with a pair of clutch threes from Emily Puskarich and a 3-of-4 performance from the foul line over the next minute and a half of action to put the Falcons back up by nine (75-66).
 
FSU pushing its lead back to double-digits after a foul shot by Gabrielle Etter at the 1:14 mark and the teams traded scores in the closing minute to allow FSU to wrap-up the 83-73 victory.
 
For the game, the Falcons shot 58.5 percent (31-of-53) from the field and 45.5 percent (5-of-11) from three. FSU also held a 33-29 advantage on the glass.
 
Ruffner finished the game going 10-of-15 from the field with a career-high 27 points, seven rebounds and two assists. All five starters for FSU finished in double-figures as Combs and Puskarich each chipped in 14, Makenzie White added 12 and Etter finished with 10. Kelli Jo Harrison came off the bench and pulled-down a team-high 10 rebounds.
 
Urbana, one of the top scoring and three-point shooting teams in the league, was limited to just 42.6 percent (26-of-61) from the floor and a 5-of-20 performance from behind the arc.
 
Urbana had four players reach double-figures, led by Tori Purk with 17 points in the win. The Knights also got 15 points from Megan Beachy, 14 from Danie Shafer and 13 from Kennedy Boggs. Boggs also led UU with six rebounds, four assists and three steals in the loss.
 
The Falcons will stay at home to host Shepherd on Thursday evening at Joe Retton Arena, tip is set for 5:30 p.m.