FAIRMONT, W.Va. -- Fairmont State held the lead for over 30 minutes and capitalized late in the fourth quarter to hold on for an 80-76 Mountain East Conference victory over West Liberty on Sunday afternoon at Dan Cava Court inside Joe Retton Arena.
 
The win helped Fairmont State clinch a first-round bye in the upcoming Mountain East Conference Tournament as the Falcons improved to 14-12 overall and 11-9 in league play. West Liberty falls to 10-16 overall and 6-14 in league play.
 
With 1:26 remaining in the fourth quarter, West Liberty's Taylor Johnson made it a one-possession game on a three-pointer to cut the Falcons lead to 75-72. On the ensuing possession, Sierra Kotchman scored two of her game-high 29 points on a driving layup to push the Falcons lead back to two-possessions at 77-72 with 1:01 remaining.
 
However, Morgan Brunner kept West Liberty within striking distance by answering with a WLU layup with 52 seconds remaining.
 
Fairmont State ran some time off the clock before coming up empty on their next possession, but Olivia Belknap's three rimmed off for West Liberty with 17 seconds remaining and the Hilltoppers were forced to foul. Kotchman went 1-for-2 from the free throw, before West Liberty quickly answered with a layup at the opposite end with under 10 seconds remaining – making the score 78-76 in favor of the home team.
 
Tuttle pushed the Fairmont State lead back to four, 80-76, after knocking down a pair of free throws and gave the Falcons enough to close out the win.
 
Kotchman shot 12-of-23 from the field and led all scorers with 29 points, seven rebounds and two assists in the win. Rachel Laskody also chipped in 19 points and seven rebounds, while Presley Tuttle chipped in 11 points and seven rebounds off the bench. Kamrin Weimer also added nine points for the Falcons.
 
Fairmont State shot 41 percent from the floor and scored 42 points in the paint on the afternoon. The Falcons also held a narrow 40-39 rebounding edge.
 
Fairmont struggled from behind the arc, however, making just 4-of-16 attempts (25%).
 
Grace Fodor came off the bench and scored 23 points to lead the Hilltoppers on the afternoon. WLU also got 17 points and five assists from Belknap, and 15 points from Brunner. Audrey Tingle had a big night on the glass with 10 rebounds.
 
West Liberty shot 42 percent from the floor in the setback.
 
Fairmont State will return to action on Wednesday evening against West Virginia Wesleyan. Tip is set for 5:30 at Dan Cava Court inside Joe Retton Arena.