FAIRMONT, W.Va. -- West Liberty outscored Fairmont State 16-5 in the final 3:26 of Sunday's Mountain East Conference Game of the Week, as the Hilltoppers rallied past the Falcons for a 78-77 victory at Joe Retton Arena. Fairmont State's final field goal of the game came at the 3:45 mark of the fourth quarter by Kelli Jo Harrison to give the Falcons a 10-point advantage at that point (72-62).
 
With the win, West Liberty improves to 9-11 overall, including an 8-6 mark in league play. Fairmont State falls to 9-10 overall (5-9 MEC).
 
Fairmont State led by as many as 15 points at the 4:08 mark of the second quarter (42-27) before West Liberty rallied in the fourth quarter to hand Fairmont State the heartbreaking loss.
 
Fairmont State led for 31:35 of the game, despite shooting just 43.9 percent from the field (29-of-66) and being held without a three-pointer. Fairmont State knocked down 19-of-23 free throw attempts on the afternoon.
 
In addition, the Falcons forced 17 West Liberty turnovers and turned them into 19 points on the opposite end of the floor.
 
West Liberty, on the other hand, shot over 51 percent from the field (29-of-56) and made seven three-pointers in the victory.
 
The Falcons were paced by 24 points from Sierra Kotchman and 21 from Brooke Kurucz. Kelli Jo Harrison also chipped in 11 points and pulled down nine boards for the Falcons.
 
Marissa Brown paced West Liberty with a game-high 26 points and 13 rebounds. The Hilltoppers also got 13 points from McKenna Shives and 11 from Brandi Beader.
 
Fairmont State will now prepare for its final non-conference matchup of the season, as Salem visits Joe Retton Arena for a 6 p.m. matchup on Monday evening.