The Fairmont State women's basketball team prepares for two conference games this week. The Fighting Falcons will play Davis & Elkins for the second time this season on Wednesday (Jan. 18) at Joe Retton Arena. The Falcons are set to travel to Frostburg State on Saturday (Jan. 21) and will meet the Bobcats at 2 p.m.
 
Fighting Falcons Facts

• Fairmont State picked up a 73-69 road non-conference win over Salem on Monday (Jan. 16). During the game, Alyssa DeAngelo scored her 1,00^th career point and became the 32^nd Fairmont State women's basketball player to reach the milestone. DeAngelo finished the game with 27 points and led all scorers.
• The Falcons dropped two Mountain East Conference matchups last week after falling to Wheeling in overtime and West Liberty at home. Fairmont State enters this week with an 11-6 overall record and is 6-4 in MEC play.
• Through 17 games, Fairmont State has scored an average of 78.2 points per game, which is the 10^th-highest scoring average in NCAA Division II.
• Fairmont State makes an average of 20.47 free throws per game, which is the highest average in the country. The Fighting Falcons also top the nation in free throw attempts per game (28.24). Katy Darnell and DeAngelo both rank in the top 10 of made free throws in the country and have converted a combined 176 free throws.
• DeAngelo's 20.3 points per game are the ninth-highest scoring average in the country and the second-highest in the conference. DeAngelo has reached double figures in 16 of 17 contests this season and is shooting 32.8% from downtown.
• Darnell has posted an average of 16.1 points per game, which ranks eighth in the conference. Darnell is ranked second in the MEC with 39 steals and averages 7.6 rebounds per game, which is the eighth-highest average in the league.
• Jalen Gibbs earned her fourth double-double of the season last Saturday versus West Liberty. Gibbs scored 15 points and snatched 13 rebounds versus the Hilltoppers. The Wellington, Ohio native is averaging 10.8 points per game.
• Charleston, W.Va. native Jertaya Hall has averaged 9.8 points per game and has forced 21 steals on the defensive end of the floor. Darnell (39), DeAngelo (23) Gibbs (23) Aaliyah Brunny (23) and Hall all have 20 or more steals.
• Point guard Madeline Huffman has dished out 50 assists, which leads the Falcons. Huffman has chalked up at least one assist in every contest this season. Huffman sank what would be the game-winning free throws at Salem with less than 10 seconds left in the game.
• Brunny, who is averaging 7.6 points per game, scored a career-high 19 points on Jan. 11 at Wheeling. Brunny shot 6-of-12 from the field and 2-of-3 from long distance.
• Head Coach Stephanie Anderson is in her fourth season leading Fairmont State women's basketball. Anderson has won 48 games during her time in charge of the program.

 
Scouting Davis & Elkins
The Senators have dropped their last four games and will be playing the second game of a four-game road stretch on Wednesday at Fairmont State. Davis & Elkins three conference wins have come versus Frostburg State, Notre Dame (Ohio) and Alderson Broaddus.
 
D&E leads the MEC in defensive rebounds per game (28.9) and is second in rebounds per game (42.4). The Senators' top rebounder is Ellie Wilkerson, who has averaged 7.4 boards per contest. Wilkerson and Taylor Smith are D&E's top scorers. Smith averages 14.6 points per game while Wilkerson has scored 12.4 points per game. The duo are both averaging 2.1 steals/game.
 
Donna Carr was tabbed as the head coach of Davis & Elkins women's basketball in October of 2022. Carr arrived in Elkins after serving as the head coach at Hillsborough Community College in Tampa, Fla. Before her coaching career, Carr played at the University of South Carolina and Catawba College.
 
Previous Matchup Versus the Senators
The Fighting Falcons and Senators met in the first MEC contest of the season on Nov. 19 in Elkins. DeAngelo netted a career-high 34 points in Fairmont State's 94-80 win in the conference opener. Darnell, Madeline Huffman and Hall all reached double figures.
 
Scouting Frostburg State
Frostburg State dropped games versus West Liberty and Wheeling last week. The Bobcats enter the new week with a 4-12 overall record and a 2-8 MEC record.
 
Luaray, Va. freshman Emilee Weakley is the leading scorer in the MEC and the second-highest scorer in the country, averaging 22.9 points per game. Weakley scored 38 points in the team's 94-81 win at Alderson Broaddus on Jan. 7. She has finished with 20 or more points in 10 games this season and has recorded 12 double-doubles.
 
Jenna Eckleberry is in her first season leading Frostburg State women's basketball. Eckleberry was the head coach at Shepherd for eight seasons before arriving in Frostburg.
 
Up Next
The Falcons will return home on Jan. 25 for an MEC contest versus West Virginia State before traveling south to Charleston for a matchup versus the Golden Eagles on Jan. 28.