FAIRMONT, W. Va. – The Fairmont State women's basketball team (3-0) outlasted Indiana (Pa.) (2-1) in the team's home opener on Wednesday (Nov. 15) night inside Joe Retton Arena.
 
Katy Darnell led all scorers with 20 points. She finished with three steals, four rebounds and five assists. Madeline Huffman scored 14 points and dished out six assists. Alyssa DeAngelo racked up 15 points and distributed three assists. Leslie Huffman notched 13 points and secured a team-high six rebounds. Jalen Gibbs rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points.
 
The first basket of the game was made by Leslie Huffman hitting a jumper after 2:30 of scoreless action. The Falcons pulled ahead 6-2 after layups made by Darnell and Gibbs. After IUP tied the score at 6-6, Aaliyah Brunny swished a three to give FSU their lead back. With 2:35 to go in the first quarter, Madeline Huffman juked her defender and finished a layup to push the Falcons to an 11-6 cushion. Fairmont State showed success offensively after a slow start to lead 17-10 heading into the second quarter. Gibbs knocked down a pair of free throws and Brunny nailed a triple to make the score 22-14 with an advantage for FSU in the first minutes of the second quarter. The Crimson Hawks continued to fight back offensively, but DeAngelo stopped an IUP scoring run with a three-pointer which forced an IUP timeout. DeAngelo drilled another from downtown and Darnell chalked up a reverse layup to make their lead 33-26 with 4:23 to go in the first half. Leslie Huffman went 1-for-2 at the line to help her team increase the FSU lead to three. Madeline Huffman recorded a triple with 1:08 to play. An IUP layup right before the buzzer evened the score, 37-37.
 
The Crimson Hawks were first on the board in the second half of action. A Leslie Huffman steal led to an assist to teammate Darnell, putting the Falcons up 44-41. A driving layup from Gibbs pulled FSU ahead by five points and completed a 7-0 scoring run for the Falcons. A triple from the Crimson Hawks evened the score at 47-47 midway through the third quarter. Madeline Huffman drained a three and DeAngelo grabbed a jumper that built the Falcons' lead back to five with 3:42 to go in the third quarter. The Crimson Hawks challenged the Falcons in the paint and regained the lead with 2:15 in the third. Leslie Huffman drove to the basket to grab two for her side. Darnell notched an and one play to push for the Fairmont State advantage to 56-55. After 30 minutes of action, both sides were in a tight stalemate at 57-57.
 
Madeline Huffman drained her third three-pointer of the game to put the Falcons back up by two. Darnell chipped in a layup after a steal of her own from an IUP guard. Gibbs recorded a layup to extend the Falcons' lead to 68-60 with 4:55 to play. After a Leslie Huffman jumper and a five second violation under the offensive basket for the Crimson Hawks, Fairmont State led 72-62 in the closing minutes of action. DeAngelo recorded a layup with 1:04 to pad the FSU lead back to 10 points. Fairmont State notched the victory with a final score 78-64.
 
The Fairmont State women's basketball team will play West Virginia Wesleyan at Joe Retton Arena on Saturday afternoon (Nov. 18). Tipoff is set for 2 p.m.