FAIRMONT, W.Va. -- Fairmont State used a 20-11 scoring advantage in the third quarter to take the lead, and then held off the visiting Golden Eagles of Charleston late in the fourth quarter to pick up a 56-54 win on Thursday evening inside Joe Retton Arena.
 
The win, Fairmont's fifth in its last six games, helped the Lady Falcons improve to 14-11 overall and 9-10 in Mountain East Conference play. UC slips to 11-14 overall and 7-12 in league play.
 
The game was a defensive struggle for most of the evening, with FSU using a strong shooting performance in the third quarter (53.8%) to erase Charleston's four-point halftime lead.
 
Charleston led by as many as seven at the 4:02 mark of the second quarter. Fairmont State grabbed its largest lead of the game with 0:42 second remaining in the third quarter and led the rest of the game.
 
Fairmont State had three players reach double figures, led by Sierra Kotchman with 15 points and two assists. Kelli Jo Harrison also chipped in 13 points, 12 rebounds and three blocked shots and Brooke Kurucz added 10 for the Falcons. Fairmont State shot just 34 percent from the field (17-of-50) and went just 2-of-7 from behind the arc in the victory.
 
Charleston had just two players reach double-figures in the setback, led by a game-high 16 points from Octavia Loll. Brooklyn Pannell also reached double figures with 11. Dionna Sanders pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds for the Golden Eagles.
 
Charleston outshot Fairmont State (37.5-34.0) and held a lopsided 39-31 advantage on the glass.
 
The Falcons will now host West Virginia State on Saturday afternoon on senior day. Tip is set for 2 p.m. inside Joe Retton Arena.