WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – Amanda Ruffner dropped in 27 points and Fairmont State shot 52 percent from the field to take down West Liberty, 83-69, on Saturday afternoon inside the ASRC.
 
With the win, FSU has swept West Liberty during the regular season for the first time since the 2008-09 season.
 
FSU also improved to 13-9 overall and 10-6 in the Mountain East Conference. West Liberty falls to 7-15 overall and 6-10 in the league.
 
Ruffner shot 9-of-14 from the field and 9-of-9 from the free throw line in the victory, and added five rebounds to her 27-point scoring performance. The Falcons also got 19 points and 10 rebounds from Makenzie White and 17 points from Emily Puskarich. Deidra Combs also filled the stat sheet with seven points, nine rebounds and four assists.
 
The Falcons forced 15 West Liberty turnovers that turned into 20 FSU points on the offensive end.
 
The Falcons stretched a 43-35 halftime advantage into a double-digit advantage in the second half, grabbing a 16-point advantage in the closing minutes before settling for an 83-69 victory. West Liberty did close Fairmont's lead to just five at the 4:30 mark of the fourth quarter, but from that point the Falcons outscored the 'Toppers 11-2 to fend off the WLU comeback bid.
 
McKenna Shives dropped in a team-high 20 points to lead the Hilltoppers. Johnie Olkosky also reached double-figures with 12 points to go with six rebounds and three steals.
 
West Liberty shot 41 percent from the field (28-of-68) and made just 6-of-24 three-point field goal attempts (25.0%) in the losing effort.
 
The Falcons will return home on Thursday evening for a 5:30 p.m. tip against the Blue Knights of Urbana.