FAIRMONT, W.Va. – The Fairmont State women's basketball team (14-6, 9-4 Mountain East Conference) defeated No. 18 West Virginia State (15-3, 10-3 MEC) 89-75 in a statement victory on Wednesday (Jan. 25) at Joe Retton Arena in Fairmont, W.Va.
 
Alyssa DeAngelo scored 19 points and hit three triples. DeAngelo went 6-for-6 from the line and added five assists and four rebounds. Katy Darnell recorded her fifth double-double of the season with 13 points and 12 rebounds and poked away two steals. Jertaya Hall managed eight rebounds and hit six field goals on the night, which aided in 17 total points. Jalen Gibbs had 14 points and eight rebounds. Madeline Huffman went 4-for-4 from beyond the arc to go along with a game-high nine assists. 
 
Gibbs was first on the board for the Falcons when she completed a layup and a free throw shortly after her initial basket. DeAngelo answered a six point deficit with a shot from outside the arc with 7:46 to play in the first quarter. Darnell finished a layup that came with a foul, which resulted in a three-point play. Laney Whitmore converted a jumper to close the gap to 13-11 with 4:12 to play. Aaliyah Brunny swished a three to even the score at 19. Darnell completed another trip to the basket that resulted in three points which gave the Fighting Falcons a 22-21 lead at the end of the first quarter. 
 
Brunny finished two chances on layups to make the score 26-21. Leslie Huffman added to the lead with a pull-up jumper with 8:06 to play in the second quarter. Fairmont State hit two threes by Hall and DeAngelo which made the score 34-29. WVSU struck back with consecutive that gave the Yellow Jackets the lead, 35-34. Gibbs earned a free throw to even the score at 35-35 with 2:21 to play in the half. Madeline Huffman drained a three to give the Fighting Falcons the lead, 38-35. Madeline Huffman followed up her three with an assist to Darnell that widened the gap on WVSU. Hall drained a three-point shot four seconds before the halftime buzzer to make the Falcons lead 43-38. 
 
Madeline Huffman started the half off strong when she hit two triples to continue her hot shooting from behind the arc. After Huffman's second three in the third quarter, Hall would follow suit with a three-ball to give the Fighting Falcons a 52-46 lead with 6:55 remaining. Madeline Huffman hit her fourth three of the night that increased Fairmont State's lead. DeAngelo and Leslie Huffman finished a bucket each to manage a 59-50 lead. Hall converted two baskets behind the three-point mark to make the score 65-52 in favor of Fairmont State. Darnell sank a pull-up jumper and Leslie Huffman completed a free throw to conclude the period and the Falcons led 68-59.
 
Gibbs finished a layup to extend the Fairmont State lead to 10. DeAngelo nailed a floater and two free throws shortly after. Darnell finished a jumper with 5:27 to play that put Fairmont State up 10 points. Hall drove to the basket and made a layup to put the Falcons' lead back at 10 points 81-71. DeAngelo and Gibbs capitalized on their attempts from the charity stripe and added three-straight points to the Falcons' total. DeAngelo hit a huge triple to push the Fairmont State lead to 87-75. DeAngelo closed out the game by knocking down a pair free throws and the Fighting Falcons delivered an 89-75 home victory. 
 
The Falcons will travel to Charleston on Saturday (Jan. 28) for a matchup versus the Golden Eagles. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m.