FAIRMONT, W.Va. – The Fairmont State women's basketball team (5-1, 3-0 Mountain East Conference) came back after being down 16 points with 9:00 left in the fourth quarter and won in overtime over no. 19 Charleston (4-2, 2-1 MEC) on Wednesday (Nov. 30) night at Joe Retton Arena in Fairmont, W.Va.
 
The Falcons never backed down and trailed for over 38 minutes of game time throughout the overtime thriller. Alyssa DeAngelo's game-tying three-pointer with two seconds remaining forced an overtime period, where the Falcons outscored UC, 15-8.
 
Wednesday night's contest marked the fourth time DeAngelo scored above 20 points in the season. DeAngelo netted 26 points and drained all 12 free throw attempts from the line.
 
Jalen Gibbs powered her way to a double-double, scoring 16 points and pulling down 13 rebounds. Gibbs added a pair of blocks and snagged a steal. Aaliyah Brunny led Fairmont State with three steals and added 11 points to her stat line. Jertaya Hall manufactured 11 points and hauled in seven boards.
 
The first eight points of the game for Fairmont State came via the charity stripe. Leslie Huffman swished a triple for FSU's first field goal to put the Falcons within five points late in the first quarter. Brunny converted a free throw that put Farimont State within four points of Charleston at the end of one quarter. The Falcons came within one point of UC's lead twice in the second quarter. The visitors held a 32-25 cushion after 20 minutes of play.
 
Charleston extended its lead to as many as 13 points in the third frame. A Gibbs jumper at the 4:09 mark helped Fairmont State creep back into the game after making the score 43-37 in favor of UC. The Golden Eagles closed the third quarter on a 5-0 scoring run and led by 11 points after three.
 
The visitors continued to build their lead in the fourth quarter. Dakota Reeves put UC up 16 points with 9:00 to go in the fourth. The Falcons roared back and cut the UC lead to six points thanks to a DeAngelo three with 6:41 left in the quarter. UC again pushed its edge back to 11 points after a fastbreak layup with 4:39 on the clock. A triple from Brunny and a pair of good free throws by Hall and DeAngelo featured a Fairmont State 7-0 run that trimmed the margin to four points. Charleston's Trinity Palacio nailed a crucial three-pointer that put Charleston up three possessions with 1:59 left.
 
A Hall layup at 1:39 closed the gap to 63-58 with 1:39 remaining in regulation. Hall sank two free throws that put Fairmont State down one possession with 47 seconds left. Charleston missed a layup that gave a chance for the Falcons to tie the game with less than 10 seconds on the clock. Head coach Stephanie Anderson called DeAngelo's number for the final shot of regulation. DeAngelo evaded a Charleston defender and sank an acrobatic shot beyond the arc with two seconds left that forced overtime.
 
DeAngelo did not cool off in overtime. The junior guard gave Fairmont State its first lead of the night after hitting a triple at the 3:44 mark in the extra period. DeAngelo drew a foul on a box out in the defensive end that led her to sink a pair of free throws to increase Fairmont State's lead to three. Gibbs finished a layup and the Falcons completed a 9-0 scoring run. Charleston did not come within four points of the Falcons' advantage for the remainder of overtime. DeAngelo's 11 points scored in overtime cemented a Falcons' victory over a nationally ranked opponent.
 
The Falcons head back on the road Saturday (Dec. 3) and will play in Institute, W.Va. versus West Virginia State beginning at 2 p.m.