FAIRMONT, W.Va. -- Fairmont State suffered a heart-breaking 84-82 setback to West Liberty in Mountain East Conference action on Sunday afternoon at Joe Retton Arena.
 
Fairmont State slips to 3-6 overall and 2-4 in Mountain East Conference play. WLU improves to 7-4 overall and 4-2 in league play.
 
Fairmont State opened up a 34-16 lead after one quarter of play and took 48-40 lead into the locker room after shooting nearly 58 percent from the field in the opening half - which included a 7-of-10 performance from behind the arc.
 
Fairmont State led by as many as 22 at the 8:48 mark of the second quarter.
 
However, West Liberty shot nearly 46 percent from the field in the second half and limited the Falcons to just 13 field goals in the final 20 minutes to pick up the victory.
 
The game had five lead changes in the final 90 seconds of the fourth quarter, with the first coming on a layup by West Liberty's Brandi Beader with 1:30 remaining.
 
After the teams traded misses on the next two possessions, Sierra Kotchman finished strong at the rim with 40 seconds remaining to give the Falcons a one-point advantage, 80-79. However, WLU's Taylor Johnson dropped in a jumper on the ensuing possession to provide an answer for the Hilltoppers with 24 seconds remaining.
 
With WLU leading 81-80, Brooke Kurucz drew a foul at the opposite end and drained a pair of free throws to put the Falcons back in front, 82-81.
 
West Liberty got a three from Audrey Tingle in the corner to regain the lead for good at 84-82 with just 1.1 seconds remaining.
 
After a timeout to advance the ball, Fairmont State in-bounded the ball to Rachel Laskody who took a contest shot at the buzzer that bounced off the rim and gave the Hilltoppers the come-from-behind win.
 
Fairmont State shot 50 percent from the field, including a 9-of-16 performance from behind the arc in the game. The Hilltoppers finished the game shooting 44.1 percent from the field.
 
Laskody once again paced the Falcons with 23 points and 14 rebounds. Kotchman (18) and Kamrin Weimer (11) also reached double-figures for Fairmont State.
 
Beader (25) and Johnson (21) paced the Hilltoppers in the win.
 
The Falcons will meet Salem in a non-conference matchup on Thursday evening at Joe Retton Arena. Tip is set for 6 p.m.